The Way We Were
by padfootsbiggestfan
Summary: Dorcas Meadowes has exactly what she wants. She's passed her O.W.L's, Sirius Black is her boyfriend, and life couldn't get much better. So why does one of her worst enemies keep catching her in compromising positions? Guess you gotta read to find out...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter One_

Dorcas Meadowes lowered the newspaper sadly, shaking her head. She looked over at Roxanne Bennett who was reading over her shoulder and she looked upset, her blue eyes wide. Marlene Mckinnon was sitting back in her seat looking disgusted.

"Two mass murders of muggles in a week! How can it be that the Ministry cannot catch these people?" Lily Evans was the one who spoke. She spoke with her hands, obviously aggravated.

After a long pause, Mary MacDonald voiced her opinion. "It can't be easy," she said, her voice unusually quiet. "I'm sure they are trying – and doing – all they can."

"They really need to try a little harder," Marlene said, slightly harshly.

Dorcas sighed and put her face in her hands. It had been like this for awhile now; Murders, disappearances, fear, chaos. They were at war. And it's not like they didn't know who was causing all the trouble, they knew exactly who it was, not that that helped them get any closer to capturing the maniac. Lord Voldemort had come into the open about a year ago, taking full responsibility for everything that had happened in the past few years. Dorcas was one tough girl, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't scared. Voldemort had made it clear that he was all for a pureblood society, getting rid of "filthy half breeds and blood traitors". Being a pureblood, you think Dorcas and her family would be safe, but this was not the case. Dorcas' father was sorted into Gryffindor while he was in school, breaking the Slytherin tradition that his family had held for ages, so naturally he was disowned and was now considered a blood traitor.

Dorcas rolled her eyes to herself. What idiots, didn't they know, these "Death Eaters" as they called themselves, that all human life deserves the same treatment? All the girls lapsed into a thoughtful silence, none of them ready to break it. Dorcas looked around at all her friends, studying them.

Roxanne Bennett was sitting on her immediate left, still perusing the newspaper. She had pretty dirty blonde hair that was cut off at her shoulder blades and deep blue eyes. She was a little over five feet seven inches and was pretty lean, due to the fact that she played Quiddich constantly. Dorcas could tell the girl was upset by all the murders, but she wasn't scared. Roxanne was tough, and a very talented witch. Dorcas smiled to herself as she remembered some of the duels she and Roxanne had gotten into. When Voldemort came out into the open, the girls decided that they needed to duel on a more regular basis so they could, as Roxanne said, keep sharp.

Mary MacDonald was next to Roxanne. She was lost in her own thoughts, and she did look a little nervous, if not scared. Mary had light brown hair and brown eyes, with freckles all along the bridge of her nose. She was usually the happy-go-lucky one of the group, always up for anything and always ready to laugh.

Across from Mary sat Lily Evans, and she didn't look too scared either, she looked mostly irritated, which made Dorcas chuckle quietly. It was always a bad idea to get Lily mad, the girl had a temper and if you riled her up, she could go on for hours. Lily had long wavy dark red hair and a gorgeous pair of eyes. They were almond-shaped and a brilliant shade of green.

Marlene Mckinnon sat next to Lily. She was leaning back in her seat with her hazel eyes closed, looking troubled. Marlene had thick brown hair and soft facial features. She had a slender build, but was curvy in some places. She was a rigid rule follower, however, this was a recent acquisition because she had been made Prefect earlier in the year along with their other friend Remus Lupin.

Dorcas herself was very pretty as well, Sirius embarrassingly telling her so every chance he got. She had hair that she straightened, parting it down the right side, and deep brown eyes that looked black. She had full lip that she hated, but everyone else seemed to like. She was on the tall side but had a slight hourglass figure.

Roxanne got up and looked out of the train window. "We must almost be to Kings Cross, I think I can see London coming into view."

Dorcas was shaken out of her thoughts. "You guys know what you are going to do this summer?" She asked her friends, getting off the depressing subjects they had been discussing almost the whole train ride home for the summer after their 5th year.

"My dad's making me work all summer," Roxanne said unhappily, then she perked up a little. "Ah well, at least it's Quality Quiddich Supplies and not something terribly boring." Roxanne's father had bought the store after intense negotiations with the past owner, who wanted to flee the country.

Dorcas laughed. "Yeah it's not like you find Quiddich boring. I would have thought you would be in heaven surrounded by all those quaffles!"

Roxanne laughed too. "Well, I'm not going to be playing Quiddich in the store, I'm going to have to do inventory and all that crap."

Dorcas smiled. Roxanne had been on the Gryffindor Quiddich team since her 3rd year, and she had to admit the girl had awesome skills.

"I'll probably spend all my time at Green Lanes this summer," Marlene said.

Lily Evans who had been in a thinking session, looked up, her green eyes excited. "Oh that's awesome! My parents sent me some money for my birthday. Can I come visit you?"

Marlene smiled and clapped her hands. "Of course! We can plan a whole day out!"

While Lily and Marlene sat making their plans to visit the busy shopping street, Dorcas looked over at Mary, whom they affectionately nicknamed 'Mary Mac'. The girl was looking even more troubled, staring at the ground.

"Hey are you okay?" Dorcas asked her, worried.

Mary looked up and half smiled. "Oh I'm okay. Just thinking. It's no big deal."

Dorcas looked at her skeptically. "It sure looks like a big deal." Mary's face was so expressive, it was hard for her to get away with anything.

Mary tucked a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear. "Well," she said. "Muggle- borns will be the first to go... won't they?" Even though she spoke quietly, the statement seemed to reverberate around the compartment. Dorcas looked at her sadly, at a loss for words.

"What do you mean?" Roxanne asked. She had obviously heard everything, though she too seemed to be in her own world.

"I don't know. I'm just scared. I don't want to be targeted."

"Okay, stop right there," Dorcas told her. "No body is going to go after you, not if I have anything to say about it. You're a really smart girl Mac, so smart that hardly anything gets passed you. I know that you could take on that psycho one handed if you really wanted to! Everything is going to be fine. Yes, things are scary right now, I would be crazy not to admit that... but if we stick together we can win this war. I know it."

Mary looked at Dorcas with admiration. There was such conviction in her voice that you couldn't help but trust everything she said. "Thanks Dorcas. That means a lot."

Dorcas took Mary into her arms and gave her a big hug. "Group hug!" Roxanne said loudly. The five girls laughed and did just that.

* * *

"Well, well, guess we came in at the perfect time Padfoot."

James Potter had just opened the compartment door, a big smile on his face and a piece of parchment in his hand. James was tall, had messy black hair and hazel eyes. He wore wire rimmed glasses, which for some reason always seemed slightly lopsided on his nose and he also had slightly thick eyebrows. He had an easy grace about him and was always ready for a laugh or a fight, whichever came first.

Sirius Black, his best friend, stood beside him and laughed his signature bark of a laugh. Sirius had long-ish black hair and bright gray eyes that danced with mischief. He was also tall, practically six feet, and was pretty muscular. Needless to say, most girls loved him, most guys wanted to be him.

"Oh shut up," Lily snapped. Always the first to reply when it came to James, Dorcas thought to herself with a smile. The rest of the girls laughed and took their seats.

"So you guys going to budge up and make a space or what?" James asked sadly. Lily rolled her eyes and scooted barely a half inch, making Marlene roar with laughter. Taking Dorcas' hand, Sirius pulled her up, sat in her seat, then pulled her onto his lap, making her smile happily.

"Hello beautiful," He said in a husky voice.

"Hello to you handsome," Dorcas said in the sexiest voice she could muster, which only made the both of them laugh.

"Common Lily, if I can't sit by you, I'll kill myself," James told Lily, the joke evident in his eyes.

"Can't you be serious about anything Potter?" She asked.

"Lots of stuff!" He said defensively. "I'm serious about how much I adore you! Your beautiful hair and your sexy eyes! And your..."

Lily cut him off. "Okay! Okay!" She moved over and he happily sat down.

Dorcas never really knew why Lily acted like she hated James so much. It was pretty obvious that she thought he was funny and sweet, not that she would ever tell him that. However, he could be very arrogant and self centered, and Lily hated that. Not to mention that he would torment and bully her friend Severus Snape at every chance he got. Well, ex- friend. Lily didn't really appreciate her 'friend' calling her a Mudblood in front of a whole group of people, a mean word for muggle-borns.

With James and Sirius out of the way, Remus Lupin made his way into the compartment, followed closely by Peter Pettigrew. Remus smiled at all the girls and Marlene was first to pat the seat next to her. He smiled gratefully and sat down. Remus had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He was very slender and always looked like he could use a few meals, which of course wasn't his fault. Remus Lupin was, of course, a werewolf. This didn't bother Dorcas or any of her friends in the slightest, but Remus obviously thought they would care seeing as he didn't tell any of the girls until 4th year. Regardless, they knew even before he told them all. Lily had figured it out, and Dorcas in hindsight thought she should have known all along anyway.

Peter sat by Mary Mac and looked at her adoringly. He had developed a crush on her quite recently, and she hadn't figured out how she could let him down gently. Peter had sandy brown hair and watery blue eyes. He was a short, plump boy and essentially good natured. He could be a little dense at times, but it was obvious that he adored his friends and really wanted to be liked by them.

"So what did we interrupt?" Sirius asked jokingly.

"Nothing really," Dorcas told him. "We just got done reading the paper." She pointed at the paper that Roxanne, who was standing by the window, her arms crossed, had in her hand.

Sirius' face turned stony. "Oh."

There was a tense silence for about a minute before Marlene broke it. "Lily and I were just discussing going to Green Lanes this summer to do some shopping. We were thinking about making it a whole girls day out."

"Oh can I join you guys?" James asked.

Lily scoffed. "What part of 'girls day out' didn't you understand Potter?"

James turned red as the others laughed, but he recovered quickly. "A day surrounded by girls? That sounds like a good day to me. How about you Padfoot?"

Sirius laughed. "Indeed Prongs. I cannot argue with you there."

Dorcas rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and smacked him lightly on the arm. "Would that be nice? A day surrounded by girls?"

"Of course not love," Sirius winked at her. "You know I only say those things so Prongs has at least one person that agrees with him." Everyone laughed and Dorcas shook her head.

"You're impossible." She ruined the effect by smiling.

"Impossibly wonderful? Impossibly sexy? Impossibly irresistible? Will one of those work or should I come up with a few more?" He asked.

"You forgot impossibly big headed, dear." She informed him. Sirius just smiled. The group laughed again.

"So what about you Roxanne?" Remus asked. "What are your plans for the summer? I heard your dad finally closed the deal on Quiddich supplies."

James and Sirius snickered at Remus' obvious crush, then brightened up immensely. "No way!" James exclaimed. "Your dad _owns_ Quality Quiddich Supplies?"

Roxanne laughed. "Yes, the past owner wanted to leave the country so we got a pretty good deal for it. That is, if anyone ventures out into Diagon Alley this summer." She looked down sadly. Most of the wizarding world was starting to stay at home, preferring to only go out when something was really needed.

"Well you'll have two visitors for sure! You going to give discounts to your best friend?" James asked excitedly.

"Sure, if Dorcas were to want a discount." Roxanne said jokingly.

James scowled. "I meant me!"

"I don't think so James, sorry, you'll have to talk to my dad about that one."

James laughed. "Deal."

"What's that parchment you have in your hand anyway Potter?" Lily asked. "You finally planning on doing some homework?"

James laughed. "Of course not! It's just a spare bit of parchment" Lily looked at him skeptically, but didn't have time to elaborate, as the train started to slow down.

"Oop, we better go back to our compartment and gather up our things. See you girls on the platform." James said as he stood up, ready to go. Remus led the way out of the compartment and Peter followed him, while James tried to hug Lily and failed, so followed as well. Dorcas got off Sirius' lap so he could get up as well. He stood and pulled her close to him, enveloping her in a kiss.

"God enough!" Roxanne said, half joking half serious.

Sirius laughed and pulled away. "Don't worry lovely Roxy, you will have someone that wants to do that with you soon enough," Sirius dodged the swipe Roxanne took at him and jogged out the door.

"Take that goofy smile off your face Dorcas," Roxanne told her. "It makes you look like a love sick puppy."

Dorcas just laughed. "If it bothers you."

Roxanne just smiled, shook her head, then hugged her friend. The girls then got ready to depart the train.

* * *

**Authors Note: **Hello everyone :D Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please keep reading. I'll try to do weekly updates, but don't quote me on that. :p Oh... and review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

**A.N. **Sorry about the mistake in the last chapter. I spelled Quidditch wrong. It's corrected in this chapter. Thanks for reading. :D**  
**

_Chapter Two_**  
**

Unfortunately for Dorcas, the first thing she saw when she got off the train was Bellatrix Black and her two cronies, Rhiannon Rogers and Brienna Baker, standing in a group on the platform, obviously waiting for the rest of their group to depart the train. The three girls were Slytherin's and insisted on making Dorcas' life, and her friends lives, a living hell. Bellatrix was the leader of the three, and hauntingly beautiful. She had thick wavy black hair that fell to her shoulder blades and dark eyes that looked black. She was tall and graceful, with a defined face and high cheekbones. She insisted on wearing Slytherin colors even while not in school, so she was currently in a long black skirt with a green long sleeved corset. Rhiannon, Bellatrix's immediate second, was practically the complete visual opposite. Rhiannon had thick platinum blond hair, blue eyes and plump lips. Shorter than Bellatrix, but still on the tall side, Rhiannon loved to intimidate by standing up as tall as she could and looking down upon people. Brienna Baker was the overshadowed one of the group, but not any less cruel. Brienna had blond hair as well, and light brown eyes. She was on the short side and very petite. Right on cue it seemed, Rhiannon made her way over to Dorcas, the other two following behind.

"Well Dorcas Meadowes. I hope you had a fun year, because believe me, your fun will not last." Rhiannon said meanly when she reached her.

"And what is that supposed to mean Rhiannon? Are you threatening me?" Dorcas shot back, refusing to back down.

"Of course not, I'm merely making a statement that you might want to heed."

Dorcas scoffed. "I would rather not heed anything that you have to say. So why don't you just get the hell away from me?"

Bellatrix chimed in. "And miss a golden opportunity to mock and hate on you? I don't think so." The three girls laughed, Brienna a little late.

"Look, I really don't care about anything you have to say. Really, it all rolls off my back. You guys don't bother me, so why waste your breath?"

"Yeah? Why do you guys waste your breath?" Roxanne came up behind Dorcas and gave the three Slytherin girls the most hateful look she could muster.

"Oh Bennett," Rhiannon started. "We only do it because its so much fun. Now, I could waste my breath and _keep_ going on and on about how ridiculous you and you're little friends are, but I won't. I have better things to do."

"Well then go off and do them then!" Roxanne said heatedly.

"Fine. Have a great summer," Bellatrix said sarcastically.

"Yeah, you too Bella, don't get hit by a bus," Dorcas almost snarled.

The three girls just laughed and walked away, making Roxanne curse quietly to herself.

"Common Roxy, I see the other girls." Dorcas grabbed Roxanne and led her to the rest of their friends.

"What was that all about?" Marlene asked as the two girls reached her and the others.

"Nothing important," Dorcas shrugged. "Just Rhiannon being Rhiannon, stupid bitch." Marlene nodded in understanding as the Marauders sauntered up to them.

"Well, my mother is giving me the death glare, and perfect little Regulus is already over there with her, so I better go too, before she has a freaking heart attack." Sirius paused, "Actually, I'll just stay here." The group laughed and started saying their goodbyes.

Sirius pulled Dorcas away. "Think you'll be able to come over to James' this summer? That's most likely where I'll be."

"I think so. Just give me a couple weeks with the family and then I'll work out a deal with them."

Sirius smiled. "I'll miss you. I'll owl, I promise."

Dorcas grabbed his neck and pulled him in for a tender kiss. "I'll miss you too. And you better."

Chuckling, Sirius pulled her in for another kiss. They broke apart, gave each other one last hug and said goodbye. Sirius hugged everyone in the group then made it over to his mother with trepidation.

"You didn't tell me you were dating that girl," his mother told him with her eyebrows raised.

"That's because it's none of your business."

"You do know that girl is a blood traitor don't you? A laughing stock in our world."

"There's only one world mother, and you do not own it."

His mother scoffed. "We will see about that."

Sirius scowled with anger while his mother walked away, Regulus following close behind her. This wasn't the first time Sirius got a bad feeling from his mother that they were more happy about what Voldemort was doing then they should be. But then again, he told himself, they had always been all for the 'purification' of the wizarding world. This made Sirius scowl harder.

"Come along Sirius!" His mother called, and he grudgingly followed, making mental plans of when and how he was going to get to James' house this summer.

Lily was next to go. She said her goodbyes, promising to owl everyone and even gave James a hug. True, he had been begging for it for 10 minutes before she would comply, but he still got one. "Don't forget Marlene, Green Lanes!" Marlene laughed happily. "Of course not! I'll owl you!" "Okay. Bye everyone!"

"Man that girl really needs to see how wonderful I am," James said sadly, making everyone chuckle.

"Don't worry James, we'll work on her," Roxanne told him soothingly.

"You should have already been working on her! I don't know how many times I've talked about her in the Quidditch locker room!" James directed the first part of the comment to Marlene especially, seeing as her and Lily were best friends.

Roxanne shook her head. "I know, I know."

"Don't think I haven't been trying James. But every time I mention you, she won't hear a good word about you. I'll say your name and she'll go off!" Marlene said defensively. James looked dejected.

"Oh there's my mom. Gotta go guys," Peter said suddenly. Everyone paused to give him a hug and he left.

"James, please don't look so sad. You'll get her, just stop acting like a total prat every time you're around her!" Dorcas told him, preparing to fight.

"I do not act like a prat! I'm always telling her how wonderful she is and..."

"And you also tell her how wonderful you are," Remus chimed in. James glared at his friend.

"It's true James, you can't deny it. Just know that we all do love you, but you seem to love yourself a whole lot more. Sorry, don't mean to be blunt, but somebody has to be." Dorcas said with finality.

James sighed and messed up his hair. "Okay. I get it."

"James," Roxanne started. "I'm going to tell you something but you cannot tell Lily I told you."

James looked up, slightly happier.

"Lily told me that when you are not trying to show off for her is when she likes you the most. She thinks you are a really sweet guy when you are not trying. So just be yourself around her. She likes that guy!"

James smiled. "Really? She called me sweet?"

"Yes," Roxanne said. "So prove to her that you can be sweet all the time. Prove that you are not just the prat you've made her think you are."

He nodded. "Thanks for telling me Roxy. I swear I won't tell her."

"Damn right you won't, or I will come after you and it will not be pretty."

James laughed. "Okay, but hey, gotta go, my parents are waving me down." Dorcas looked over at James' parents. They were older than most parents, they had James late in life after trying so hard to have children, so he was extra spoiled. James hugged the remainder of the group and invited everyone to stay whenever they wanted. "We have so many extra rooms you guys could all come at once if you wanted to." They all expressed their thanks and James left, waving.

"Where are your parents Mary?" Dorcas asked.

"Oh they are probably waiting for me outside the barrier... so I should probably go huh?" She laughed and hugged her friends, taking her leave, promising to owl as well.

"I should probably go too," Marlene said. "But my dad is talking to all his Ministry friends and I don't wanna hear that stuff. But I should probably go save Declan, he looks really bored." She smiled and hugged her friends, lingering on Remus for just a little longer. Dorcas and Roxanne exchanged a look. "I'll see you all sometime this summer I'm sure. You both are invited to Green Lanes with me and Lily if you wanna go, something I probably should have told Mary too. Darn. Oh well, I'll just owl her. Okay, see you guys."

The girls smiled and thanked her. Marlene waved at Remus and walked away, her thick brown hair swaying behind her.

"So what are your plans for summer Remus?" Dorcas asked. "Anything special?"

"Not really, my father said something about maybe going abroad but I don't know how safe that would be, traveling, you know?"

Dorcas nodded in understanding, while Roxanne was staring at something.

"Oh, there are my parents now. I'll see you guys later. Think you will be able to make it to James'?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, I already told Sirius more than likely, so we'll see you there." Dorcas told him. After a pause, she hit Roxanne on the arm.

"Ouch! What?"

"Remus asked you a question."

"Oh.. yes Remus? I'm sorry."

Remus smiled. "I just wanted to know if you were going to be able to make it to James' house at all."

She nodded. "Yeah, hopefully, unless my worst fear that my dad will work me like a dog comes true." Remus laughed. "Okay, I hope that doesn't happen. I'll see you guys soon." After he hugged both girls, Roxanne a little longer, he walked away.

Dorcas turned to Roxanne. "What are you staring at?"

Roxanne turned red. "Nothing."

Dorcas scanned the area, there was nobody they really knew. Except for one person. "There is nobody except Ryan Thompson over there." Dorcas observed. Roxanne turned redder. Dorcas shook her head.

"Yes he is cute Roxy, but he is trouble."

"I didn't profess my love for the guy, I'm just looking. Is that so bad?" Roxanne said defensively.

"No, I guess not. Look all you want."

Roxanne laughed. "I'm done."

Dorcas couldn't help it, she laughed too.

Ryan Thompson was a Slytherin boy in their year. He was tall, with short brown hair, bright blue eyes, and was also extremely handsome. His facial features were what drew every girl in school to him. He had high cheekbones and a finely sculpted nose with plump lips that you just wanted to get your lips on. Unfortunately, he already knew how sexy he was. He was one of Hogwarts biggest players, a different girl on his arm practically every week. The thing Dorcas liked about him though was that he didn't play into the whole pure blood mania thing. He was pretty level headed and really didn't think that being a pureblood made you better than anyone else. He was very laid back and didn't seem to need anyone's approval. He did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, with whoever he wanted to do it with. It was refreshing to see a Slytherin like that.

"So you think Marlene has a thing for Remus?" Dorcas asked Roxanne. She didn't answer. She was back to staring. "HEY! Earth to Roxanne!"

Roxanne jumped. "What? For god's sake Dorcas, do not do that!"

"You're ignoring me. I told you he's trouble. Your reputation will be ruined."

"Like I care about my reputation." Roxanne said, waving a hand dismissively. Then she blushed. "I'm not into him anyway. Let's drop it and move on."

"Well that's what I was trying to do, but if you want me to shut up so you can keep staring, I have no problem with that." Dorcas told her flatly.

"Oh shut up. Okay," Roxanne turned away from where Ryan was standing. "What were you saying?"

Dorcas smiled knowingly. "Well I was just asking if you thought Marlene likes Remus."

Roxanne shrugged. "I don't know, but it kinda seems like it huh? She could have just wanted to give him an extra long hug. Maybe he smells good or something."

Dorcas laughed. "Yeah maybe. So.. you would never go out with him?"

Roxanne made a face. "Remus? I don't think so. I mean.. he's... I dunno. I don't think so."

"Well make sure you let him down gently," Dorcas said wisely.

"Let him down gently? For what?"

"Well, it's just that when he left he gave _you_ an extra long hug... but maybe you just smell good."

Roxanne scoffed and shoved Dorcas lightly. "I don't know, I'm sure he just thinks of me as a really good friend."

Dorcas shrugged. "If you say so. Are your parents here yet?"

"No, not yet," Roxanne said with a sigh. "I'm sure they are just busy with the store."

"Yeah, I'm sure they will be here soon." Just then, Dorcas spotted her parents who had apparated some twenty feet away. "Oh, my parents just apparated. And.. oh no..."

"What? Whats wrong?"

Dorcas' father, Benjamin, had just started talking to Cygnus Black, Bellatrix's father. It seemed that no matter what the man thought of her father being a blood traitor, he wasn't about to miss an opportunity to suck up to such a high ranking member of the Ministry.

"My dad's talking to Mr. Black."

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "I hope he knows that your dad sees right through him"

"Oh he does, but that's obviously not stopping him from sucking up. The jerk."

Roxanne giggled. "Jerk indeed. Well, you better get over there and make a good impression. I'll see you here in a few weeks probably. Stop by the store whenever you want."

"You're not coming over there with me? I'm sure my parents would love to see you!"

"Oh no. I think I'll stay far away from that. Besides, I'll see them at some point. I practically lived at your house last summer."

"Thanks a lot Bennett."

Roxanne laughed. "Common give your best friend a hug."

It was Dorcas' turn to roll her eyes. "Okay, traitor." Roxanne smiled and the girls hugged. Dorcas waved and walked away, wanting nothing more than to stay where she was, but she figured her dad would probably need to be saved. Mr. Black had a bad habit of talking a hell of a lot.

Dorcas' mother Ella, smiled as her daughter approached. "Hello dear? Did you have a good term?"

Dorcas smiled back and hugged her mother. "Yes, it was fine."

"Ah, Dorcas, how are you?" Cygnus Black asked her.

'Like you care you big fake.' "Oh I'm just fine, how are you Mr. Black?" She asked with a fake smile.

"Just fine, just fine. I believe you all know my daughter Bellatrix." Bellatrix stood behind her father, a contemptuous look on her face. "And my other daughter, Narcissa." The blonde girl came out from behind her sister and Dorcas recognized her as a fourth year Slytherin, but she never knew the two were related.

"Ah yes of course," Dorcas' father said. "And how did your term turn out Bellatrix, and Narcissa of course?"

"It was wonderful, thank you so much Mr. Meadowes," Bellatrix said with a fake smile of her own. Narcissa stayed quiet.

"That's wonderful. Well Cygnus, we really must be going. I'm sure Dorcas is starving, so I'll see you at the Ministry. It was wonderful to see you again Bellatrix, and nice to meet you as well Narcissa," her father told the three Blacks pleasantly.

"Yes, it was very nice to see you all," her mother added.

"Of course, of course, the pleasure is all mine," Cygnus said. "Yes Benjamin, I will see you at the Ministry. Come along Bella. Don't dawdle Narcissa. Good day to you all."

Dorcas' father nodded curtly and turned his back on Cygnus, his smile sliding off his face. "Well Dorcas, hello, how was your term?" He asked as he hugged his daughter tightly.

"It was great, thanks dad," Dorcas smiled.

"Okay, well are you up to side – along apparation?"

"Yep, that's fine, lets go." Dorcas said, not all to excited. Apparation made her want to barf more often then not, but she was starving and she just wanted to get home. She looked over at Roxanne who's parents had come, apologizing profusely for being so late. She caught Roxanne's eyes and the girls smiled at each other and waved. Benjamin then took his daughter by the arm and they disapparated.

* * *

A.N. I know some of you may ask, so I'll nip this in the bud. I realize that it isn't really canon for Bellatrix to be at school while the Marauders are there, but I really couldn't miss the opportunity to write her in as a villain. So, there's the explanation for that.

Quick updating huh? XD Actually, I've honestly had some of this story written before I got the nerve to post it on here, so let me know what you think. I know its kind of slow moving right now, but I had to introduce everyone and all that, so I hope it isn't terribly boring. It'll get better. Trust me. :D Oh, and review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter Three_

"Well Dorcas, welcome home." Dorcas smiled as her father spoke, making his way into the kitchen with his wife, obviously getting prepared to make dinner. Dorcas grabbed her trunk and started to heave it up the stairs to her bedroom. They had a modest home, with 4 bedrooms and 2 ½ bathrooms. The ½ her father added magically when Dorcas wanted a bathroom of her own. She made it upstairs and opened her bedroom door. It was just as she remembered it. A picture of Queen, the band, was above her bed, while pictures of her and her friends dominated the rest of the walls. A new picture of her and Sirius was on the nightstand, taken at Christmas when they had only been together for a few days. She smiled happily, heaved her trunk onto her bed, opened it, and started to unpack.

Meanwhile, at the Bennett household, the family was around the dining room table eating dinner, Roxanne's father Noah was talking spiritedly about the store he recently acquired.

"Thank god that that man left me with such a good list of contacts. I knew it was going to hard work you know, managing a store and everything, but I didn't even think about suppliers! Thank goodness that he had been doing this for so long. I was so grateful that before he left he sat down and had a talk with me, you know. He obviously wants the store to do well, even if he cannot do it himself. So luckily, he left me with a huge list of practically everything I needed. Even going so far as to tell me who had the best stuff for cheapest!" He took a breath and reached for his glass of water.

"That's really cool dad, that was really nice of him," Roxanne said after swallowing.

"Indeed Roxanne, indeed. You know I'm going to need your help this summer. We already talked about it. Even though the man was knowledgeable, he was definitely not very organized. We are going to have to go through everything. Catalog it and all that, so it won't be easy."

Roxanne nodded. "I know dad. I'll help. I already told all my friends that they could get off their lazy bums and help as well."

The family laughed. "Okay then. I'll let you have a rest tomorrow, but after that, I'll need you to report to the store as soon as you wake up."

Roxanne nodded again. "Got it. I won't let you down dad."

"Daddy! Why can't I help?" Olivia, Roxanne's little sister, whined.

"Unfortunately Olive, I have a feeling that if you went you would be more of a hindrance then a help."

Roxanne snorted into her food. "But, if you promise to be good, I swear I'll let you come once in a while," her dad said after giving Roxanne a look.

Olivia stuck her tongue out at her big sister and smiled. "Thanks daddy!" Roxanne rolled her eyes. Olivia was twelve, but she sure didn't act like it. She had figured out that if she put on a disgusting baby voice and whined that her father would cave to mostly anything the girl wanted.

"Won't you be bored in a Quidditch shop Olivia dear?" Roxanne's mother Charlotte asked patiently.

"No mother, I'll be fine," Olivia said rolling her eyes. Charlotte just shook her head.

* * *

In the heart of London, Rhiannon had just finished unpacking all her things and headed into the living room of their family flat. Her mother was sitting on the couch, doing some cross stitching, and her father was nowhere to be seen.

"Why do you do that mother?" Rhiannon asked, looking down at the sewing.

"It relaxes me Rhiannon, and with you coming home for the summer, I need about as much of it as I can get," her mother Rebecca said, with the hint of a joke.

Roxanne just rolled her eyes and sat on a comfy chair. "Where's dad?"

"In his study of course, where else would he be?"

Rhiannon's father was the assistant to the head of the Department of Magical Transportation in the Ministry of Magic and he was very set on becoming head in the very near future. Dedicated to his job, the man never had much time for his family.

Rhiannon nodded. "Yes, I'm not sure where else he would be. Does he know I'm home?"

"I'm not sure Rhi, you'd have to ask him."

Rhiannon rolled her eyes again and got up, heading to her fathers study. She was pretty sure he would hate being bothered, but she wanted to see him. She went to the door and knocked quietly.

"Rebecca, I told you not to bother me. I'm in the middle of something important!" Her fathers voice cracked out like a whip, obviously irritated.

"It's me daddy, I'm home," she said uncertainly, hoping he would want to see her.

"Come in."

Rhiannon opened the door and cautiously stuck her head in. Her father was sitting at his desk, papers placed all over, obviously in the middle of something. "Yes? Come in Rhiannon."

She walked into the room and toward her fathers desk. "Hello father, I got home today." She said meekly.

"Yes, yes, I can see that. How was your term?" He asked, barely looking up.

"It was fine. My O.W.L.'s went okay. I hope I did good on them."

Her fathers eyes narrowed. "You know me and your mother expect good marks Rhiannon. Did you study hard? I trust you didn't fool around, you were taught better."

Rhiannon flinched a little at her fathers harsh tone. The only person in the world who could make her flinch. Well, her father being one, and Albus Dumbledore being the other.

"I didn't daddy, I studied hard. Honest."

"Good. Now if you don't mind, I'm quite busy. I'll see you here in awhile for dinner and we can talk then. Help your mother won't you? Get that damn cross stitching away from her."

"Yes father. I'll see you at dinner." Rhiannon got up quickly and left the room. She walked back into the living room, but her mother had disappeared, so she headed to the kitchen instead to help with dinner as her father instructed. When she reached the kitchen, her mother was bent over in the refrigerator looking for something. Rhiannon cleared her throat to make her presence known.

"Rhiannon, would you rather have salad or corn on the cob?"

"Salad, for sure. Corn gets stuck in my teeth. Not attractive."

Her mother chuckled. "Okay, salad it is." Rhiannon had just noticed something sizzling on the stove and went to investigate.

"Pork chops?" She asked looking down at the mystery meat. Her mother nodded and started cutting up lettuce for the salad. "What do you need me to do mum? Father said to help."

"There's some tomatoes in the cooler, if you don't want those, there's some sprouts in there too we can use instead. Sorry for the leftovers, your dad hasn't been available to take me shopping."

"It's fine, and I'll get out the sprouts, tomatoes make salad soggy."

Her mother chuckled again. "How did you get so picky? I know you didn't get if from me, I like mostly anything."

Rhiannon smiled and just shook her head, shrugging slightly. After a pause she asked, "So, has anyone found out yet?" '

Rebecca tensed up, obviously caught off guard. "Now why would you ask me that?" She said a little harshly.

"I deserve to know. If I'm expected to lie for him, I should know whats going on. He cannot keep it a secret for much longer."

Her mother shook her head. "No body is going to find out. Especially if you keep your mouth shut." It sounded like a threat.

"They are going after muggle-borns mother! It's only a matter of time before the Ministry is infiltrated. It may already be. There are Death Eaters everywhere, ready to pounce on a moments notice! They won't care who's assistant he is, once they find out _what_ he is!" Rhiannon's face turned red and her voice had risen to almost a shout.

"Keep your voice down! Do you want him to hear you, you crazy girl? Now just help me make the salad and keep quiet, or else everyone will know by just listening to you shout." Her mother's hands had balled into a fist, it seemed to take everything her mother had to not hit her daughter.

"You are ridiculous. Face the facts. They will find out," Rhiannon's voice had gone the opposite way, it was deathly quiet now.

"Pork chops?" Brandon, her father, had just walked into the kitchen. He stopped suddenly when he saw the two women face to face, obviously angry with each other. "Now what is this?" Her mother smoothed her hair down and put on a smile. "Nothing dear, just a little spat about Rhiannon's O.W.L.'s."

Brandon scowled. "You did do well, didn't you Rhiannon?"

Rhiannon's face was still red, but she spoke calmly. "Well, I guess we'll see in a couple weeks. Maybe sooner."

"Indeed. Now lets get some food before it gets cold shall we?" Her father sat at the table, gestured for the girls to do the same and used magic to serve everyone. The meal passed in stony silence, each thinking the same thing, but none wanting to bring it up.

* * *

"Is that vanilla?" Remus asked his mother as they walked though the door of their inner city home. His mother smiled, and pointed at a big vanilla scented candle on a coffee table sitting in the middle of the living room. "Smells nice," he commented.

"Thank you dear. You know how I adore the smell," his mother smiled again.

"Yes," he said, smiling back at her. His father came in behind his mother, dragging Remus's trunk. "Well Remus," his father started. "I'll leave you to deal with the trunk and your mother and I will go try to rustle up some dinner."

Remus laughed. "Okay dad." John smiled at his only son.

Remus made his way to the back of the house where his room was located. It was slightly cramped, and it made him miss their old house in the country. The Lupin's spent a good 2 years perfecting a little house on the outskirts of London when Remus was a child. It was a wonderful two story log home that was very roomy. The Lupin's had abandoned the home however after Remus received his bite. They tried to stay, but his mother could hardly sleep at night and kept nervously peering out the windows, afraid the werewolf would come back. So, they moved to the inner city where there was a mass population of people so the werewolf wouldn't dare try to present himself. Remus lifted his trunk onto his bed and a guilty knot weaved into his stomach. He tried not to, his parents always told him it wasn't his fault, but sometimes, he still felt like it was. Remus sighed and sat on his bed, getting lost in his thoughts. After a while, he shook himself out of them.

"What's done is done. You can't change it, so stop dwelling on it," he told himself sternly. His stomach growled, so he abandoned the unpacking and made his way out of the room. When he arrived in the living room, his parents were nowhere to be seen, but a newspaper laying haphazardly on the couch caught his attention. He strolled over to it and picked it up, the headline was of course about Voldemort. He rifled though it absentmindedly, when a page that looked like it had been cried on caught his attention. He folded the newspaper over and a lump rose in his throat.

**WEREWOLF ATTACKS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH: HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF**

Remus scanned the article sadly. _"Keep all your children inside on a full moon. Make sure they understand and are aware the dangers of werewolves at all times." _This didn't upset Remus to terribly, werewolves were dangerous, but the next point made him almost start bawling. _"Try not to consort with werewolves even in their human form as getting too attached could cloud the judgment when it comes to the dangers." _

Remus collapsed on the sofa, defeated. 'I can't believe this. Why... why would they tell people this? I don't have human form. I'm more human than werewolf.' Remus felt tears starting to come down his cheek and with anger, he wiped them away. At that moment, his mother walked into the room.

"Remus? Supper is almost ready dear. Come serve..." she stopped dead when she saw the newspaper in his hand. Remus stood up and chucked the newspaper aside nonchalantly. "I'm ready, I'm coming," he told her tonelessly. He walked passed her and into the kitchen. His mother just stood there looking like she was about to cry.

When they all sat around the table, Remus and his mother were silent.

"Potatoes Remus?" His father asked, obviously lost as to why his family looked so miserable. Remus just nodded and took the bowl from his father. "What is it? What's wrong son."

Remus shook his head. "Nothing dad. I'm just tired. A little moody. The full moon is coming up."

"Not for a couple weeks," his father said smartly. "Are you sure that's all that's wrong?"

"You would know wouldn't you?"

Remus's father looked very surprised. "Of course I need to know when the full moon is son. Why wouldn't I know that?"

"Just so you can make sure you can stay away from the dangers of having me for a son." Remus didn't really know where his anger was coming from. He was just so tired of it all. He didn't want to be Remus Lupin anymore.

John looked even more surprised at that. "Where is this coming from Remus? I thought you had dealt with this. You are not a monster. You are my son and I love you, werewolf or not. Now what is really bothering you? Please tell me."

Georgia, his mother, interjected. "The newspaper. I left it on the couch. He read it. You know how those people at the newspaper are, telling everyone that werewolves are extremely dangerous even when they are not transformed. It's rubbish, absolute rubbish and somebody needs to go down there and give them a piece of their mind," she said very fast, agitated and it sounded like she was about to cry again. "Why do people have to be so ignorant?" She added.

Remus's father looked understanding. "Remus please. Don't take it personally. They are just afraid of what they don't understand."

Then Remus did something he never did before. He stood up and started shouting. "DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY? How can I not take it personally? I'm a monster! An animal! People are never going to understand because they don't care! I might as well go and get put down like the animal I am. The world would be better off without me in it anyway!"

His mother gasped. "Remus! Please don't say that! You can't think that. We would be devastated without you!"

Remus ignored her. "I just don't get why Greyback couldn't have just killed me!" He had figured out the name of his attacker very recently and his parents looked surprised.

"Son, don't. You are our son. We love you," his father said again in a calm voice. "Think about how your friends would react to what you are saying right now. Now, I'm not going to lie to you. You are never going to be everyone's favorite person, but who cares! People are just scared. There is a war going on and people say things that they don't mean. Please, don't let what they say defeat you. You can't. It would be playing right into their hands. Don't let them win."

Remus couldn't take it anymore. He left the kitchen and went to his room, slamming the door behind him. His parents stayed at the table, looking distraught. "Should I go talk to him?" His mother asked sadly, tears starting to roll down her face.

"No Georgia. Give him some time. He needs time."

* * *

**A.N. **A little shorter than my usual chapter, but I really wanted to include it. Hope you guys like it. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter Four_

'Why can't I be of age and able to use magic during the holidays?' Roxanne thought to herself. She stood up, stretching her back and sighed as she looked at all the boxes of merchandise she still had to go though. Her father was as bad as his word, giving her one day of rest then making sure she was there bright and early the next day. It had been about a week since then, and she couldn't believe she was _still_ unpacking boxes. The last owner had, before he left, made sure to have a gigantic everything must go sale to obviously make as much money as he could, leaving the Bennett's with nothing. Her father was sending frequent owls trying to get everything set up, while Roxanne was in charge of unpacking box after box as they arrived. A bright side was that her father had given her creative license to decorate how she wanted, so she was pretty excited about that. All of a sudden, a big thud was heard at the door and Roxanne jumped. "Geez." She walked over to the door, opened it, and saw another box lying on the stoop. She stuck her head outside the door and saw about six owls all flying off. "Dad!" She called into the back. "Can you help me? I think some of the brooms came!"

"Oh excellent, we've been waiting for those haven't we?" Her father came into the room with a clipboard and a quill with what seemed to be a checklist. He pointed his wand at the box on the stoop and led it in. Finding an empty space on a table was going to be hard, but somehow he found one and set the box down. "There you go honey. You need anything else?"

"You to unpack this box?" Roxanne asked innocently.

Noah just laughed. "Here, I'll compromise with you." He used his wand to open the box and he lifted the brooms out of it, knocking the box out of the way and setting them on the table. "There. Now all you have to do is unwrap them and put them away."

Roxanne shook her head. "Thanks?"

He laughed again. "No problem," and with that he disappeared into the back room again.

Roxanne sighed and picked up her quill and parchment and started counting brooms. They had to catalog everything, her dad was insistent on it. Just then, a tinkling of a bell sounded and somebody walked into the shop. They had their register set up and everything, so they had their open sign up, but Roxanne didn't figure they would get any people, once they got a peek into the window and saw how messy the place was at the moment. Roxanne turned to tell the shopper to excuse the mess when her voice caught in her throat.

"Wow. You guys are doing some serious redecorating." Ryan Thompson, the Slytherin boy Roxanne had been staring at on the train platform, said jokingly.

Roxanne nodded and finally found her voice, chiding herself for being so ridiculous. "Yes, we just got the store recently and the last owner pretty much took everything, so I apologize for the mess. Please feel free to look around and ask any questions you may have."

Ryan smiled and nodded. "Do you know much about Quidditch?" Maybe it was just her imagination, but Roxanne thought she heard a slight sneer in his voice.

"Probably more than you," she said matter-of-factually.

"Oh yeah?" He challenged. "Okay, you could help me pick out a broom then." He said with his eyebrows slightly raised.

Roxanne shrugged. "That's what I'm here for. What were you looking for? Speed? Precision? How much were you willing to spend?"

"Well I'm definitely looking for both those things, and no more than 100 galleons I expect."

Roxanne's jaw dropped and Ryan laughed. "Sorry?" He said jokingly.

She quickly shut her mouth. "No, no, don't be sorry. Well then, you could definitely go for a more high end broom. My advice would be to go for the Nimbus, they are still considered the best brooms on the market right now. The Nimbus 1500 came out a couple months ago, want a look at that?"

Ryan nodded. "That would be great, thanks."

"Follow me."

Roxanne led him further back into the store where there was a huge glass display case lining one whole wall that was two stories high and full of brooms. Roxanne tucked her blonde hair behind her ears and got onto the attached ladder. She climbed up, opened the case and carefully grabbed a brand new Nimbus 1500. She descended slowly and handed the broom to Ryan.

"Lightweight, the handle is made of mahogany, it'll take you to.. oh I'd say 110 miles per hour on a good day."

Ryan looked at the broom happily. "You mind if I take it outside?"

"So you can steal it? I don't think so?" Roxanne laughed.

"Common. Two minutes just so I can get a feel for it."

"Fine. Two minutes. I must be crazy. If my dad catches us, we're dead." Ryan nodded in understanding. "I'll be quick," he told her.

Roxanne nodded gravely and followed him outside. He mounted the broom, his muscular thigh obvious against his pants, which made Roxanne blush and turn away, and rose into the air. He made a couple laps up and down the almost empty shopping street and then landed gracefully in front of Roxanne again.

"I think I'll take it," he nodded his approval the moment his feet touched the ground.

Roxanne smiled. "Guess my dad won't be able to kill me after all."

Ryan chuckled and followed her back into the store.

"Roxanne? Whats going on?" Her father asked. He obviously came into the front and noticed her gone.

"Oh dad. I was just about to call you. I was just outside with a customer. He wanted a bit of a trial run, but he's ready to make a purchase."

Ryan's eyebrows shot up, obviously confused with the professional manner Roxanne was referring to him in. Her father brightened. "Really?" He said, trying to contain his excitement. "Well that's wonderful! You know where the wrappings are Roxanne?"

"Yes dad, I'll go grab one now."

"Excellent. Ah," he said, directing his attention to Ryan. "The Nimbus, yes, wonderful choice, best broom on the market."

"Yes, your daughter was just telling me," Ryan said with a nod. "She's very knowledgeable."

This made Noah brighten up even more. "Oh yes, she is wonderful isn't she. Couldn't keep her from Quidditch if I tried. The girl's hooked. You play Quidditch at all young man?"

"Yes sir. Chaser."

"Indeed! Well wonderful. You'll have a great broom to do that with, that's for sure! Ah Roxy, perfect."

Roxanne had just came back with the packaging, and held out her hand for the Nimbus. Ryan reached out to give it to her, and Roxanne's hand grazed his. It was a little rough, she mused, probably hanging on to his broom all the time. She chided herself again. They finished the transaction for Ryan and gave him his broom.

"Thank you both very much."

"Of course, of course son, think nothing of it. Come back again," her father told him. He waved, turned around and went back into the back room.

"You showed me I guess. You do know a lot about brooms" Ryan told Roxanne, a smile in his eyes.

"Well I do try," she laughed. A silence fell between them. Not an uncomfortable silence, Roxanne noticed, but not exactly perfectly comfortable either.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around. Thanks for the broom." He stepped a little closer, making her breath catch in her throat. She could smell him, he smelled like a musky aftershave.

"Of.. of course," she told him quietly, not being able to look anywhere but his bright blue eyes.

He stepped a little closer, so the smell of aftershave practically consumed her, and almost whispered, "I'll come back."

All Roxanne could do was nod, but he seemed satisfied. He walked toward the door, paused to wave, then left.

It took a few seconds before Roxanne realized she wasn't breathing. She took a deep breath and shook her head, slightly confused. The thought of sending an owl to Dorcas right away and seeing what she thought about this nonsense crossed her mind, then left it just as quickly. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to tell anyone.

**

* * *

**

The one thing Dorcas loved the most about the holidays was the fact that she could sleep in for as long as she wanted. She was currently getting ready for the day, pulling out her straightener. She had just started to pull it though her black hair when there was a tap on her window. She smiled as she saw Sirius' family owl's wings beating steadily up and down waiting for her to let it in. She immediately crossed over to it, letting the owl fly though easily. "Thanks," she smiled up at it, but like most of the Blacks, it just gave her a stern look and took off again. She chuckled softly and opened the letter.

Dorcas,

I hope you are having a good holiday. How is your family? Mine is... well who cares about them eh? I've been bugging my mother to let me skip out to James's, and I'm pretty sure I've got her convinced. She hates having me in the house anyway. So perhaps this weekend, I'll be there. Any chance of convincing your parents? I miss you a lot Dorcas, I really do. I know it's only been about a week, but its true. Anyway, let me know. I hope to see you soon.

Love ya,

Sirius

Dorcas read though the letter happily, but then her eyes widened as she read the last two words. 'Love ya?' She certainly cared for Sirius, but love never crossed her mind. Her heart started beating faster as she just kept staring at the letter in disbelief. A few seconds later she chided herself. It just says love ya.. its not like he told her 'I love you and I will until we both die' or something. She shook her head to herself. It was fine, not a big deal, and she chuckled with how silly she was being. It's just two silly words right? Right. Dorcas put the letter on her nightstand and resumed her hair care. She had asked her parents yesterday about going to James's and just as she had predicted, they still wanted more time with her. After all, it had only been a week. She also needed to owl Marlene and ask when they were planning on going to Green Lanes, she had made the decision that she wanted to go too. Then she would probably go to James's house after that. She hoped Roxanne would be able to come, the last owl she had gotten from her was telling her how busy she was. She glanced at the letter on the nightstand again and shook herself mentally. They were just two silly words.

**

* * *

**

Lily,

How's your holiday? Mine is fine, mostly just sitting around stuffing my face. You know, my mom makes the best food and you should totally come over and eat some of her food because it is really good food and it would be great if you could come and eat some.

James sighed and ripped up the letter, throwing it into the trash with the other torn up tries. He didn't understand how even with Lily not being here he could be so tongue-tied. He was trying to figure out how to put in a letter how much he would like her to come visit, but he couldn't seem to do it without sounding completely pathetic. Just then, Roxanne's words of advice came back to his mind. _Just be yourself! She likes that guy!_ James nodded with resolve and grabbed another piece of parchment, determined.

Lily,

Hi. I hope you are having a really great holiday. Mine has been pretty quiet, but its nice just being here with my parents, they missed me something terrible. Anyway, I'm just writing to let you know that you are welcome to come over anytime you want. Sirius was going to arrive sometime this week, and it would be really great if you could join us. If you can't, I understand, but it would be great seeing you somewhere other than school and the train platform. If you do come, I promise to make it worth your while. We'll find some fun stuff to do.

Hoping to hear from you soon,

James Potter

James reread this letter about five times before he was satisfied with it. He couldn't detect even a hint of bragging or egotism. He sealed up the letter and sent his owl with it as soon as he could find her, hoping that Lily would want to come. James had already informed his parents that he had invited all his friends, and they couldn't have been happier which made him smile sadly. His parents wanted nothing more than to have a house crawling with children, but his parents unfortunately had a hard time conceiving. Just then, his mother called his name and told him to get ready for lunch. 'Don't have to tell me twice," he thought to himself, making his way to the kitchen.

**

* * *

**

Rhiannon was stomping around her room in a temper. She had brought her father's blood status up to her mother again, but she wouldn't listen to sense. Her father had hidden the fact that he was a muggle-born for so long that Rhiannon had almost forgot about it, but now she couldn't think about anything else. Voldemort had come out into the open very recently and was very open about his goal; that mudbloods must die. Bellatrix had openly commented in the Slytherin common room that she was only too ready and willing to join the Death Eaters as soon as she left Hogwarts, which disturbed Rhiannon to no end. She never exactly imagined that Bellatrix could actually kill someone, but apparently she thought she could. Brienna, who pretty much went with whatever Bellatrix wanted, voiced her eagerness to join up as well, but Rhiannon was less eager. She sat down on her bed and ran a hand though her hair. What would happen to her father when a Death Eater found out he was a muggle-born? Rhiannon was sure that there was some in the ministry, spying for Voldemort. She was also equally sure that Bellatrix's father was most likely already one. She brought her knees up to her chest and stared off into space. She really just didn't want anything bad to happen.

**

* * *

**

Dorcas' mother and father were already in the kitchen settling down to lunch when she made it to the kitchen. She had missed breakfast because she slept so long, and now she was famished.

"Are those BLT's?" She asked her mother happily. Her mom chuckled. "Yes dear, help yourself to as much as you want. You missed breakfast, are you hungry?"

"Extremely," Dorcas said already helping herself to some toast and putting mayo on it. Dorcas looked at her father who was at the head of the table, immersed in the Daily Prophet. "Anything happen?" Dorcas asked sadly.

Her father lowered the newspaper thoughtfully. "More murders. The dark mark being set above the homes of course. No arrests." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "No more than expected I suppose."

Dorcas could just nod. Things were getting bad.

"But enough about that. Eat up, you look skeletal," her father told her grinning.

Dorcas scoffed. "Oh please. I do not look skeletal." He just laughed. "So dad, have you thought anymore about when I'll be able to go to James's house?"

Her father shook his head. "No. Do you really hate us that much?"

"No! Why would you..." Dorcas stopped mid sentence when she noticed the smile on her dads face. "Jerk."

He laughed again. "Here, I'll make you a deal. Once we get your O.W.L results we'll let you know if you'll be able to go or not."

Dorcas nodded. "Okay, that sounds fair."

"Good. Now eat your BLT."

It was Dorcas's turn to laugh. "Okay."

Roxanne and her father were having a similar conversation over at Quality Quidditch Supplies. Her father had finally gotten most of the ordering done, so he was unpacking the boxes with his wand, and putting the merchandise on the shelves under his daughters vision.

"So what do you think dad? Let me off the hook for a week so I can go to James's with all my friends?" Roxanne asked hopefully.

"I don't know Roxy. There is still a lot to do." Her father said slowly.

"Please dad? The decorating is almost done, and all we really have is inventory. Make Olive come and count brooms. I bet she could do that. Maybe," she shrugged.

"Okay, tell you what. If your O.W.L.'s come and I'm happy with them, I'll let you off the hook, but _only_ if I'm happy with them." He said sternly.

"You got it dad. You won't be disappointed."

"I know," he smiled at her. "Okay, Golden Snitches, where should these go?"

* * *

**A.N. **This speedy update is dedicated to my first reviewer, **FastTyper**! :D Hope everyone is liking it so far. Oh, review! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter Five_**  
**

Dorcas,

Hey! I just wanted to let you know that Lily and I made it official that Saturday is going to be our girls day out. Come early, around 8, I have a bunch of girly stuff planned. Mary Mac isn't coming, she ended up going to visit some family in Scotland, lucky girl. But anyway, owl me back and let me know if Saturday will work for you. See you soon!

Marlene M.

Dorcas read though the letter happily. She seized a piece of parchment right away and wrote back to Marlene telling her that Saturday would be just fine. Just as she sent Marlene's owl back with the reply, another owl soared inside her window, this one from Roxanne. She undid the scroll carefully and offered the owl some water that was on her bedside table. The gray owl hooted thankfully and dipped its beak in the glass. Dorcas opened the letter and read.

Dorcas,

Hey. I hope you are having a great summer. Mine is okay, even though my worse fear of being worked like a dog came true. Oh well I guess. So did you get a letter from Marlene? I pretty much had to beg my dad to let me go, but he's actually letting me. Are you going too? I hope so. Let me know. My owl knows where to find me. Be punctual about writing back now, I've instructed my owl to peck you until you do.

Oh you know I'm kidding.

Love ya,

Roxy

Dorcas chuckled to herself, then took heed of Roxanne's warning. She wouldn't put it passed her best friend to instruct an owl to peck until a reply was written. She pulled another piece of parchment to herself and wrote a reply, assuring Roxanne that she was able to go as well and that she would see her on Saturday, which was only a couple days away. She tied the letter to the gray owl then watched as it flew off. She then headed downstairs to get some breakfast.

"Good morning Dorcas," her mother said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Morning mum, whats for breakfast?"

Her mother pointed at the cereal in front of her and Dorcas understood. "Ah cereal. Wonderful." Her mother ignored the sarcasm.

Halfway though her bowl of cereal, Dorcas heard a quiet tapping coming from somewhere inside the house. Her father, obviously hearing it too, put his paper down, confused. Her mother got up and went to investigate. About a minute later, her mother came back into the kitchen, a letter in her hand. "It was just an owl," she said. Then she held out the letter for Dorcas to take.

"For me?" Dorcas asked.

"From Hogwarts," her mother said quietly.

Her father stopped with his spoon halfway up to his mouth. "Well open it!" He said, sounding a little scared, which made Dorcas half smile.

"Okay, but promise you won't disown me when we figure out what these are?" Dorcas said jokingly.

Her father laughed. "I'm not promising a thing. Ella?"

"Oh stop being silly, both of you. Just get it over with Dorcas," her mother said aggravated but ruining the effect by smiling.

"Okay, here goes." Dorcas opened the letter and took out her O.W.L results.

**Ordinary Wizarding Levels Results **

**Dorcas Ella Meadowes has achieved: **

**Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations**

**Charms: Outstanding**

**Herbology: Acceptable**

**History of Magic: Acceptable**

**Transfiguration: Outstanding**

**Arithmancy: Exceeds Expectations**

**Defense against the Dark Arts: Outstanding**

**Care of Magical Creatures: Acceptable**

**Potions: Exceeds Expectations**

After reading, she looked up at her parents who were looking at her expectantly. They all just looked at each other for a moment then Dorcas decided to let them off the hook.

"Passed. Every one!" She said happily. Her parents looked like they exhaled simultaneously then they both smiled hugely. Her father took the letter from her and scanned it himself, while her mother enveloped her in a hug. "Oh Dorcas, I'm so proud of you!" She said, and she did sound proud. Dorcas couldn't really believe it. She knew that she did well, but she didn't really expect the marks she got. Three outstanding's!

Her father finished up and handed the letter to her mother with a smile. "Great job Dorcas, you did wonderful and I couldn't be prouder," he told her, and he gave her a big hug as well. Dorcas couldn't stop smiling. Her mother finished with the results and handed them back to Dorcas. "Make sure you put them in a good place. You should hang it on your wall!" Her mother said sounding excited.

Dorcas scanned the results again. She was surprised at her History of Magic mark, she'd have to remember to thank Lily for letting her use all those notes. She was also surprised at her DADA mark, but it was something that interested her. That, and she knew that with the wizarding world how it was now, she would probably need it.

"Oh mother," Dorcas said, shaking her head, but still smiling.

"It was just a suggestion," her mother shrugged.

"I'm going to go send an owl to Sirius," Dorcas said happily. She got halfway to the door when her father called her back. "Yeah dad?" She inquired.

"Whenever you want to go to James's, just let us know. We did have a deal after all," he told her with another smile.

"Thanks dad! I'll definitely let you know," she said excitedly, and ran up to her room.

* * *

James,

Hello. My holiday is going fine, hows yours? I'm glad you're getting to spend some time with your parents, they seem like great people. Thank you for the invitation to your house, and I think, god knows I'm out of my mind, that I'm going to accept. Your letter was very heartfelt and I wouldn't feel right declining. So again, thank you, and I will see you soon. Marlene and I are going for girls day, on Saturday, so it will be after that that I come. I'll owl you again with specifics. You have a very cute owl by the way.

Sincerely,

Lily

"Yes!" It took almost every ounce of self containment James had to not jump up and scream for joy. Lily Evans was coming to his house! She was coming here! He couldn't believe it... he was really going to have to come up with some good stuff for them to do. Maybe something they could do alone. The prospects were exciting. James's excitement started to wane when he looked around his room. "Looks like I'm going to have to clean up some," he said to himself laughing. He then rushed downstairs to let his parents know that they should be expecting company very soon.

* * *

**Ordinary Wizarding Levels Results**

**Sirius Black has achieved: **

**Astronomy: Acceptable**

**Charms: Exceeds Expectations**

**Herbology: Acceptable**

**History of Magic: Poor**

**Transfiguration: Outstanding**

**Muggle Studies: Acceptable**

**Defense against the Dark Arts: Outstanding**

**Care of Magical Creatures: Exceeds Expectations**

**Potions: Exceeds Expectations**

Sirius scanned his results multiple times. He was pleasantly surprised and satisfied with them. He had no chance of passing History of Magic, he just used that class to sleep. Transfiguration was a slight surprise as well, he supposed it had mostly to do with Dorcas and her making him pay attention in class. He smirked as he looked at his Muggle Studies grade. He passed that class solely due to a girl that sat next to him who was desperately in love with him and let him copy off her. He chuckled to himself, put down his marks and continued with his breakfast, contemplating his plans for the day. Just then, the door to the kitchen opened and his mother walked in, her eyes narrowing as she spotted Sirius's marks on the table. Sirius shoved some more food into his mouth and got up, ready to take his leave, not about to sit with his mother at the table. He made it about halfway out of his chair when his mother spoke.

"Let me see them," she said, holding out her hand.

"Let you see what?" Sirius asked innocently.

"You know what I mean, give me your O.W.L results," she said, her eyes narrowing even more dangerously.

"You heard your mother. Give them to her."

His father had just walked in. An intimidating looking man, Orion Black could make almost anyone quail under his stare. Sirius rolled his eyes, walked over to his mother and handed her the results. His father went and stood behind his mother, waiting to read them too. They both read them quickly and scowled.

"This is the best you could do?" His mother asked incredulously. "How could you fail History of Magic? And an 'E' in Potions? Explain yourself."

Sirius looked at her in disbelief. "History of Magic is boring as fuck, and how is an 'E' in Potions bad?"

His mother looked affronted and his father said, "don't you talk to your mother that way you ungrateful little boy. Now why did you get such terrible marks? You just fooled around didn't you? I knew you would never amount to anything."

Sirius looked at his father as if the man had slapped him across the face. "I didn't fool around. I did the best that I could. They are not terrible either. You two have no idea what you are talking about."

"How dare you!" His mother practically shouted. "Now you listen to me. I understand that perhaps you are just stupid, but if you don't start doing better, I'll pull you _out_ of that mudblood loving school and shove some sense into you myself!"

Sirius wasn't going to stand for this. His parents thought that they were so much better than every else because they were purebloods, but the truth was that they were just ignorant and cruel. "Sorry to let you know mum, but you guys are the stupid ones. You can bitch and moan all you want, but you're going to have to do it without me here to listen to it. Fuck you both, I'm leaving."

His mother gasped and put her hands to her chest, her mouth hanging open. His father came right up to him and grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him close to his face. "Have you lost your mind boy? I have half a mind to beat the living hell out of you." He then shoved Sirius away from him in disgust. "Get out of my house. You'll be back for the Christmas holidays, unless you want to really understand what pain feels like. Do you hear me?"

Sirius gave his father the dirtiest look he could and got up, dusting himself off. "Whatever. I'd rather die then come back here." Turning on his heel, he almost made it to the door when he felt something hit him in the back of the head. He turned around to see his O.W.L results lying on the floor at his feet.

"Take those with you," his mother said.

Sirius picked up the letter, crumpled it in his hand and stormed out the door, heading straight to his room to pack.

* * *

James couldn't stop smiling. He had passed all his O.W.L.'s, Lily Evans was coming to his house, and his breakfast was amazing. He had just started to dig into his bacon when he heard a knock on his front door. "Somebody's at the door!" He yelled, taking a bite of his bacon. He heard nothing except another knock at the door. Sighing, he got up. "I'll answer it!" He left the kitchen and walked to the front door, wiping off some pepper that had gotten on his lap. Another knock. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" He shouted irritably to the unknown visitor. He opened the door to see a very irritated Sirius Black looking back at him. "Sirius! I wasn't expecting you for a couple more days!" He told his best friend happily.

"Yeah, slight change of plans," Sirius said, and he ran a hand though his hair. "Think your parents would mind me staying for the rest of the summer?" He asked, not able to look James in the eye.

"Of course mate, of course," James said dismissively. "Sometimes I think they love you more than me! You actually came just in time, I told my parents to start expecting people. Come in."

Sirius crossed the threshold as James's mother Elizabeth came into the foyer. "Oh Sirius! It's so nice to see you," she said fondly. She then spotted his trunk and duffle bag. "You've come to stay for the summer?"

"Yes," Sirius said nervously. "I hope that is okay."

"Of course my dear boy!" She said so sincerely that Sirius beamed. "You know we love to have you here. I have half a mind to not let you go back to Hogwarts so I can have you here instead."

Sirius laughed. "I'd love that Mrs. Potter."

She laughed too. "It's a deal then."

James interjected. "No no mum, you have to let the boy get an education. His mind is obviously confunded, he doesn't know what he is talking about."

His mother laughed again. "You are just jealous because I put you on the Hogwarts Express as early as I can on September first."

Sirius roared with laughter and James even chuckled too. "Thanks mum, you're a pal."

His mother winked at him. "Come on in Sirius and make yourself at home."

Sirius smiled. "Thank you so much Mrs. Potter, I really do appreciate it."

"Of course dear, just remember to see Harold as soon as you can. He's in his study, and he'd never forgive you if you didn't put him on the top of your list."

"I sure will, I'll just go dump my stuff and make my way there."

"Perfect," she smiled fondly and gave Sirius a hug. "Remember, make yourself at home," she said again. She smiled and walked away.

Sirius watched her go and smiled again. "You sure are lucky James. Your parents are amazing."

James smiled but didn't really know how to respond. "Come on mate, I'll show you your room." The two boys headed up the stairs, each lost in thought.

Sirius put his trunk and bag on the bed when they arrived in the room. He headed toward a window where sun was shining brightly though it. "I like this so much better then the doom and gloom of Grimmauld Place. Your house always seems brighter for some reason."

"Well, it may have something to do with the fact that your house is surrounded by houses and mine isn't, you know?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah? Is that the reason?"

James laughed. "That's what you get for trying to be all philosophical," he said jokingly.

Sirius just shook his head.

"So, Lily wrote and said she'll be able to make it," James tried to say nonchalantly but unable to hide his excitement.

"Right on. How much did you have to pay her?" Sirius asked seriously. He then laughed as James seized a tea candle off a dresser and threw it at him. "I'm kidding," Sirius said, his hands still up, ready for another attack.

James smiled. "Yeah, after Saturday she said. I guess they are having their girls day then."

Sirius shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well that's radical James. Have you thought about what we're all going to do when everyone arrives?"

"I have a couple ideas," James said thoughtfully. "You got a swimsuit?"

Sirius laughed his bark of a laugh. "When have I ever needed a swimsuit?" He asked.

"I'll take that as a no. Well I have some shorts you can just wear," James told him.

"Okay... are you going to set up the water hose in your front yard and spray Lily down with it?"

James scowled. "No, I was thinking about having my dad put us a pool/hot tub in the backyard. What do you think?"

Sirius brightened. "A hot tub? Radical. Think Dorcas would like that?"

James nodded excitedly. "That's what I'm saying!"

Laughing, Sirius nodded as well. "Well that would be great. I think we can come up with a couple more ideas too."

James nodded again. "I think so Mr. Padfoot."

Sirius smiled. He was so happy he left home.

* * *

The day after Sirius arrived at James's house, Remus decided to approach his parents to ask them if he could go as well. He had been in his room for most of the time for a week or so in a bad mood. He was having a hard time getting over seeing someone so blatantly saying that he didn't deserve to be treated like a human being. He walked slowly into the kitchen where his parents were having lunch. His mother spotted him and immediately got up, bustling about to make him a plate.

"Hello son. Some lunch?" His father asked.

Remus was teetering on looking his father straight in the face and answering with a very pronounced 'no', but at that moment his stomach gave a loud growl.

"I'll take that as a yes. Sit." His father said with finality.

Remus didn't even try to argue and sat down. His mother handed him the plate she had made him. It was overflowing with food and Remus grabbed his fork and started in on it right away. The meal went by in mostly silence, it only being broken by the occasional 'pretty good?'. Remus's mother and father weren't about to let him off the hook that easily though. As soon as Remus took his last bite and put his fork down, his father spoke.

"We've been worried. How are you?" He asked concerned.

"Fine." Remus said stiffly.

"Liar," his father commented. "I know what you read was horrible son, and I'm sorry."

Remus looked up at his father, who looked so sad that Remus thought he might cry. His mother was looking like she might do just that as well. He let out a long sigh, not really knowing how to respond. He couldn't let things like that take over his life. He couldn't barricade himself in his room forever. "It's not your fault. Really."

His mother sniffed. "Unfortunately Remus, there are people who are going to judge you for what you are, but we are not. We are your family."

Remus half smiled at his mother. "If Sirius caught me yelling like I did, he would have told me to shut my trap and stop being a prat."

His father chuckled. "So he would have. Are you going to be okay? Just remember son... you have people who are going to love you no matter what."

"I'll be fine. Thanks, and I'm sorry."

His parents shook their heads. "Don't worry about it Remus. We understand. That kind of ignorance cannot be easy to take."

Remus nodded. "So I came out here to ask you guys if I could take off to James's house for a week. After the full moon of course, so there's no risk."

"Of course son. You go and have fun with your friends." His mother said with a smile.

"Thanks mum." Remus got up hugged his parents, finally feeling at ease for the first time since reading the newspaper article.

* * *

**A.N. **Good? Bad? Ugly? Review and let me know. :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter Six_

True to her word to Marlene, Dorcas woke up early on Saturday morning. Her parents were hesitant to let her go to the shopping street, but decided that since it wasn't in the wizard world it would be, not completely safe, but a little more safe anyway. She tiredly rubbed her eyes and walked over to her closet. She was glad she remembered to shower the night before. She tried on a couple outfits before she decided on a pair of dark blue bell bottom pants and a loose, off the shoulder gray shirt. She curled the ends of her hair and pulled it into a side ponytail, teasing it so it was just a little bigger. She took a multicolored bag out of her closet that she hadn't used for a while and put some essentials in it, including her wand. Her parents had told her that if she felt threatened in any way to use it and they would make her excuses to the Ministry. She slipped on a pair of gray moccasins and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Roxanne was having a less leisurely time getting ready than Dorcas. Her sister Olivia had gotten into the bathroom first and refused to leave it, saying she was getting ready.

"What do you need to get ready for you little brat? I'm actually leaving the house and I need to shower!" She shouted irritably into the door, knowing it would just make her sister go slower.

"Roxanne? What on earth are you yelling at?" Her mother asked, coming around the corner and looking confused.

"Will you please tell Olivia that I really need the bathroom and that taking forever in there won't make me like her more?"

Her mother shook her head. "Olive? Get out of there. Your sister really needs to get ready or her friends are going to be waiting for her."

"MOM! I'm getting ready!" Olivia screamed childishly.

"Stop it Olivia. Get out of the bathroom. You can get in after Roxanne is done and you can stay in there all day for all I care." The bathroom door opened suddenly and Olivia stormed out of it, making sure to bump into Roxanne's shoulder, or the part of her arm the girl could reach. Roxanne made to follow her and smack her upside the head, but her mother stopped her. "The bathroom's open dear," she said warningly.

Roxanne glared in Olivia's direction before thanking her mother and heading into the bathroom.

* * *

Marlene was humming as she set the table up for her and her friends. She had gotten up extra early to get everything ready. She had prepared a big breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and toast. She lovingly made an iced lemon tea that she put a small dose of firewhiskey in for taste. She also put out her mother's champagne glasses so her friends would feel pampered. She had even dressed for the occasion, putting on a white strapless cocktail dress that was tight around her midriff and flared out on the bottom. She had just started lying out the silverware when her doorbell rang. She looked around excitedly, hoping she didn't forget anything and went see who had come.

"Lily! Hey!" She said happily seeing her best friend. The girls hugged and Lily stood back. "What do you think? My mom helped me pick it out," Lily asked holding out her arms so Marlene could see her dress more clearly, the girls had decided they wanted to match. It was a cocktail dress as well, a v-necked dark brown one with pleats on the bottom that went a little above her knees.

"Oh Lily. You are just too gorgeous!" Marlene told her.

Lily smiled hugely. "You really think so?"

"Yes. Of course. That dress is so pretty." Which made Lily smile again. "Come in Lils, wanna help me with the silverware? I'm almost done."

Lily nodded and they made their way into the decorated dining room. "Oh Marlene, you did such a good job. The other girls are going to love it. You obviously put so much thought into this!" She told her while she laid out some silverware.

Marlene blushed. "Thanks Lily. I really wanted this to be something we all remembered. I wanted to make it special seeing as we don't really do much girl bonding."

"It's amazing, and you are so right. I don't really see it getting any better either. You know, getting older and more interested in boys and all that."

"Boys? Or a certain boy?" Marlene asked knowingly.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Just boys."

Marlene laughed. "Yes, I know what you mean. So you decided to join us at James's huh?"

"Yeah. I figured I need as much time away from Petunia as I can get. You know she still won't stop calling me a freak?"

"Really?" Marlene shook her head. "I'm sorry Lils, that's terrible."

"Oh, it's fine. It makes me sad sometimes remembering how close we used to be, but if she wants to be like that I can't change it so I might as well forget about it."

Marlene nodded. "Yeah, I understand. Well, don't worry about that today. We're going to have fun. Oh and I have a surprise for you girls after we are all done shopping."

Lily's eyes widened. "A surprise? You don't have to Marley. You've already done so much, this is really great."

"I know I don't have to, but I want to," Marlene told her, shrugging.

Lily smiled at her best friend. "Okay. You convinced me."

The girls laughed and the doorbell rang again. "Oh, right on, another guest. Sit down Lils and help yourself to whatever you want." Lily nodded as Marlene left the room. A couple minutes later she came back into the dining room, Dorcas behind her.

"Hey Lily!" Dorcas said kindly. "Oh that dress is so pretty!" She told her, making Lily smile again.

"Thanks Dorcas, it was Marlene's idea to get all dressed up."

"She had the right idea, you guys look great," she smiled at the both of them. "I hope I'm not too under dressed."

"No, of course not, you look great too. Those moccasins are so cute!" Marlene told her.

"Oh thanks, my mom picked them out last Christmas, they are really comfy."

The girls took seats around the table. "Try the tea, my moms recipe. Iced lemon with a shot of firewhiskey. Really gives it a kick." Marlene told her friends.

After about ten minutes, Marlene looked at her watch. "Did Roxy tell you when she was planning on coming?" She asked Dorcas.

"No, but I'm sure she won't mind us starting without her. I'm pretty hungry."

Marlene nodded. "I hope she's okay. But yeah, let's eat, the bacon just smells too good." The girls laughed and served themselves.

Five minutes later, the doorbell rang again. "Oh that must be her. Awesome." Marlene went to go let Roxanne inside.

"Hey guys," Roxanne said as she walked into the dining room. "I'm really sorry I'm late, my airhead sister wouldn't get out of the bathroom." The rest of the girls shook their heads.

"Don't worry about it Roxy. I hope you don't mind, we started eating, we kinda couldn't help it." Marlene told her.

Roxanne laughed. "No worries, I understand hunger."

The girls laughed again and Roxanne took her seat. She too was wearing bell bottoms, but she had on a tight dark blue shirt that had loose long sleeves.

When the girls finished up with their breakfast, they took their leave, heading to the shopping street.

* * *

"What do you think Dorcas? Red or yellow?" Roxanne held up a couple of sundresses for her to look at. Dorcas considered each one. "I like the red. I think that bright yellow would wash you out." Roxanne looked the yellow one and nodded. "Agreed." She put it back on the rack and sighed. It had been a couple of hours since they had left Marlene's and Roxanne was already getting tired. She wasn't a huge shopping fanatic and really had to be in the mood.

"I think I need some coffee or something," Dorcas mentioned. "I've been sleeping in all holiday except for today and I'm pretty tired."

Roxanne nodded her understanding. "Yeah. Where did Lily and Marlene get off to? I wonder if they would be opposed to stopping by that coffee shop we saw on the corner."

Dorcas shrugged. "I doubt it, let's go see if we can find them."

The two girls went hunting and tracked Lily and Marlene down while they looked at shoes. Marlene was critiquing Lily in a pair of black flats. "I love those Lily, you should really consider them." Lily looked at them thoughtfully, not answering.

"Hey girls, you mind going for some coffee after this? Dorcas and I are about to fall asleep." Roxanne asked them.

Marlene looked thoughtful. "I don't really want any coffee, but you guys can go. How about we meet you wherever you're going when we're done here."

Dorcas nodded. "That sounds great. You guys don't mind?"

Marlene shook her head while Lily stared at the shoes in the mirror. "You guys going to the coffee shop on the corner?" Marlene asked. She knew where every store was on the street.

"Yeah. Take your time and we'll be there." Roxanne said.

The two girls nodded, Lily finally taking her eyes off the shoes. "I think I'll take them," she said happily. "We will see you guys in a bit. Don't think I see much else I like here."

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Roxanne told them. She walked up to the cashier, paid for her red sundress and her and Dorcas made their way to the coffee shop.

"You heard from Sirius at all?" Roxanne asked as the girls settled themselves at a patio table with their coffee's.

"Just once," Dorcas told her. "He said he missed me a lot."

"Well that's cute," Roxanne said, taking a sip.

"Yeah," Dorcas said flatly.

"Okay, you don't seem very happy about it. Something happen?" Roxanne asked concerned.

"No," Dorcas sighed. "Nothing happened, its just... well, it's not important."

"Oh just tell me." Roxanne said rolling her eyes. "It's obviously bugging you."

Dorcas sighed and tried to figure out how to word her worry without sounding like a bitch. "At the end of the letter I got from him, he told me... 'love ya'."

Roxanne looked confused. "Yeah. So?"

"I don't love him," Dorcas said bluntly.

Roxanne's eyebrows shot up. "Not even kinda? You guys have been going out for awhile."

"I do care for him. Deeply. But no. I really don't think I love him. Is that bad?"

"No... it's not bad. Do you think you could ever reach the point where you do love him?"

Dorcas looked thoughtful. When she received that letter from Sirius, she couldn't really think of much else. Would she be able to love him one day? She wasn't sure, and that didn't make her feel much better. She shrugged to answer the question.

Roxanne looked troubled. "Okay, that's kinda bad. Think, five years from now, would you be able to love him then? If everything was great between you two and he told you in five years that he loved you. What would you say?"

Dorcas thought about it for a minute, and Roxanne shook her head. "There's your answer then," she said regretfully.

"Huh? What?" Dorcas asked confused. "What's my answer?"

"If you have to think about it, then it'll never happen," Roxanne said wisely.

Dorcas sighed. "I like Sirius. I like him a lot, and it's hard to imagine my life without him. So of course I could love him someday."

Roxanne just looked at her with her eyebrows raised and sipped her coffee. A silence fell over the two friends, each lost in her thoughts. Roxanne couldn't really believe her ears. She was sure that Dorcas was head over heels for Sirius, but now she wasn't so sure. Every time she had mentioned Sirius before Dorcas would get all misty eyed and say how much she adored him, but now... Now it just seemed that Dorcas was waiting for a good enough excuse to kick him to the curb. Maybe the love word just scared her. Maybe she wasn't ready for the type of commitment Sirius seemed like he was ready for.

Across the table, Dorcas was battling with herself. She knew she adored Sirius, she kinda always had a thing for him. Maybe she was just being shallow. She wanted him when she didn't have him but now that she did, she didn't want him. Dorcas rolled her eyes internally. What an idiot she was being. They were just two silly words and she was letting it ruin something wonderful. She just needed to stop worrying and take it as a complement. It was Sirius Black for goodness sake. She knew he didn't mean 'love ya' as something so serious. He was probably just trying to be funny anyway. She was dragged out of her thoughts when she heard Marlene's voice behind her. "Hey girls. It's about time for my surprise. Are you guys ready?"

Dorcas nodded and took the last couple drinks of her coffee, and Roxanne did the same. "Did you end up getting anything else besides the flats Lily?" Roxanne asked curiously.

"No, I couldn't find anything else I wanted."

The girls walked a few blocks and stopped in front of a fancy spa. "Surprise!" Marlene said happily with a giggle.

Dorcas gazed at the spa confused. "Marlene, I really don't think I have the money for this."

Marlene waved a hand dismissively. "It's on me and already paid for."

The three girls looked at her in disbelief. "What?" They exclaimed in harmony.

"Yeah, I had some money saved up and decided I wanted to treat my friends. Come on, we're going to miss our appointments."

Lily looked shocked. "I just can't accept this Marley, this had to be crazy expensive!"

"If you don't come in Lils, I'm going to cry. So we might as well just skip the scene and get some quality relaxation." Marlene said with a smile. The girls kept stammering their thanks and Marlene waved another dismissive hand. "It's nothing. My pleasure. Now come on!" She said holding the door open for them. The girls went into the spa, ready for some facials, massages and manicures.

* * *

About three hours later, the four girls were relaxing in Marlene's living room, very rested from their spa day. They had all changed into some comfy pajamas and were lounging around, just gossiping. Dorcas laughed at something Marlene had just said and took a sip of lemon tea. "So when are you guys planning on going to James's?" She asked everyone.

"Probably not until Wednesday or Thursday," Roxanne said as she adjusted herself on some pillows.

"Same I think," Lily looked thoughtful. "I told him sometime after today."

Marlene looked surprised. "You didn't tell me you talked to James."

"Once. He sent me a letter asking me to stay, and I wrote back telling him okay."

Everyone smiled. "Well that was nice of him. Personally inviting you." Marlene said.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't make to much of it. I'm sure he just thought I wouldn't go unless he did personally invite me. Besides he has eased up a bit on the egotism."

Roxanne nodded. "He really has Lily. Ever thought of giving him a chance? He obviously adores you."

Lily looked embarrassed. "He does not."

Dorcas shook her head. "Oh Lily, I know you don't believe that. It is way to obvious and you are way to smart to let it get passed you."

Lily looked even more embarrassed at that. "Okay so maybe he likes me. Fine. I concur. Are we done talking about me? Let's talk about Marlene and Remus."

The three girls looked Marlene's way and she blushed crimson. "There is no Marlene and Remus, so let's not," she said edgily.

Dorcas laughed. "Okay, we won't embarrass you. Change of subject."

"Thank you," Marlene told her, and she smiled.

Roxanne stretched out on the couch and yawned. She looked at a clock on the mantle and it said 6:00 pm. "Oh, I better get going so I can make it home for dinner." She stood up and started gathering her things. She then turned to Marlene. "Thank you.. for what you did. It means a lot."

Marlene smiled. "Of course. We will really have to do it again sometime. I'll see you at James's here in a few days."

Roxanne smiled too. "Sounds great. Thanks again." Marlene nodded and the two girls hugged. "I'll see the two of you soon as well." Roxanne told the other girls.

Dorcas nodded. "Okay, see you at James's. Or I might stop by the store before then too."

"Okay, that sounds great. I'll see you later. Bye Lily, I'll see you at James's too."

Lily nodded too. "K, see you." Roxanne hugged them all and waved. She went to the door and let herself out.

"Okay, well I better go too," Dorcas said. "Thank you so much Marlene, you really didn't have to do all this."

Marlene smiled. "Of course I did, anything for my bestest friends."

Dorcas laughed. "Okay, I'll see you guys at James's. Bye!" She too gathered up her things and left.

"Wanna go to my room Lily? We can lounge around in there and talk. You're still staying over right?" Marlene asked her best friend.

"Yep," Lily smiled. "Lets go, I wanna see how you redecorated. Remember you were telling me?"

"Oh right! I forgot that you haven't seen it yet. Come on, I'll show you. You'll love it."

The girls made their way upstairs, very satisfied with how their day went. It was sure nice to know that even though there was a war raging all around them, they could always make some girl time.

* * *

**A.N. **Well that was kinda filler. I'm not exactly happy with this chapter, but there is a reason I included it. Hope you guys like it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter Seven_

**Beware, the story earns its rating in this chapter.**

"Remus? Wake up Remus." Remus heard the voice as if from far away and tried to do what it said. "Please wake up."

Remus blearily opened his eyes and saw his mother's worried face above him. 'I must be on the floor,' he thought randomly, he could feel himself lying on something hard. She took his hand and helped him onto a couch. Collapsing onto it, he could barely keep his eyes open. "Do I have to wake up?" He asked slurring slightly. "No honey, you don't but hold on a second while I bandage you up, okay?" Remus nodded, but stopped quickly because it made his head pound. He felt his mother wrap some soft cloth around his head and arm, then he felt a washcloth graze his neck. His mother then released her hold on him and he leaned over exhausted, laying his head upon a throw pillow. He tried smiling at his mother, but couldn't, so he closed his eyes and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

It had been a few of days since their girls day out, and Dorcas still felt relaxed and happy. She had just finished breakfast and headed upstairs to gather up her things to go to Diagon Alley for the day. She decided she had left Roxanne alone long enough and was going to help her at the Qudditch shop. She had also decided it would be better if it was a surprise. She couldn't wait to see Roxanne's face.

* * *

At Quality Qudditch Supplies, Roxanne was busy painting a sign that would hang above the quaffle display. Each aspect of Qudditch all had a separate section of the store and it didn't look as though a hurricane had blown though the store anymore. Mostly everything was put away, and now Roxanne was just making signs so it was clear where everything was. A bell rang out somewhere to alert her that someone was coming in. She put down her paintbrush so she could go help the customer and when she turned a corner and saw who it was, she couldn't help but smile. True to his word about coming back, Ryan Thompson was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking at the Golden Snitch display.

"I thought you were a chaser," Roxanne told him jokingly.

Ryan smiled. "Yes, but maybe a seeker title would be just the change I'm looking for."

"And why would you be seeking a change in the first place?"

"Ah puns," he said teasingly. "Well, I get bored easily unfortunately."

Roxanne laughed. "I noticed."

Ryan contracted his eyebrows. "Really? What do you mean?"

"Well, just by the different girl on your arm all the time, I kinda just figured."

Ryan nodded. "I guess you know everything about me then."

Roxanne was surprised. What did that mean? Was he angry? She just couldn't decipher his tone of voice. While she was lost in her thoughts, Ryan had taken a few steps toward her so they were very close. Smelling the aftershave she had come to know so well, Roxanne was shaken out of her thoughts. She looked up at the Slytherin, very confused.

"I didn't mean to offend you," she told him quietly.

"You didn't. It's laughable to think you could bother me at all."

Roxanne took a step back. "Oh? Laughable is it?"

"Yes." He said simply, taking a step forward.

Roxanne just looked at him. "Why are you here anyway?" She asked irritably.

"To see you."

Another short answer. 'That's kinda annoying,' Roxanne thought. "You don't even know me." She told him shortly.

"That's unfortunate," he said quietly. "It needs to be changed." Ryan lifted up a hand and grazed her cheek with the back of it. He cupped her face in his hand and brought her closer to him so that their bodies were practically touching.

Roxanne was freaking out. What was going on? She didn't even know this guy! Nevertheless, she allowed him to bring her closer to him, her body tingling with anticipation.

Ryan brought his other hand up and ran it though her blonde hair. "You're beautiful," he told her, bringing his lips closer to hers.

Barely breathing, Roxanne brought her hands to his neck, stroking his hairline. Her eyes then widened. It was like her body had a mind of it's own. Her mind was telling her one thing and her body was doing another. Ryan's full lips grazed hers but before he could deepen the kiss, a voice rang out.

"Roxanne?"

Roxanne gasped and jumped away from Ryan and his hands fell to his sides. Dorcas stood by the door of the store, a very confused look on her face. A few seconds later, Dorcas seemed to recognize her mistake and started stammering an apology. "I'm sorry, I'll just go," she said awkwardly.

Ryan shoved his hands in his pockets. "No, don't go. I have to anyway. It was nice seeing you both." He sounded awfully formal, his face not betraying any emotion.

Roxanne blushed deeply and waved lamely. Ryan nodded to both girls and left the store, closing the door behind him.

The two friends just looked at each other, at a total loss with what to say. Roxanne tried to disperse the tension. "Like my sign?" She asked.

Dorcas nodded. "Yeah, it's really great."

Another silence. Both girls wanted to talk but really didn't know how to approach the subject. The girls were saved by Roxanne's father, who walked in at that moment.

"Dorcas!" He exclaimed happily. "How have you been? How's your summer?"

Dorcas smiled. "It's been great Mr. Bennett. Thank you so much."

"Of course. Roxy tells me you guys had such a good time with your girls day out."

"Yes, it was very fun. It was so nice of Marlene to set it all up," Dorcas said nodding.

Noah nodded too. "Well, I must go to my office. I have some books to go over. It was so nice seeing you Dorcas, you must stop by for dinner sometime."

"That would be wonder Mr. Bennett, thanks."

He smiled at her then turned to Roxanne. "Any customers dear?" He asked curiously.

Roxanne half glanced at Dorcas before she answered. "No daddy. None."

Her father sighed. "Ah well. I guess it's to be expected." And with that he made his way to his office, leaving the girls to their silence. Dorcas decided it was time to break it.

"How long? When were you going to tell me?" She asked Roxanne, feeling slightly betrayed.

Roxanne looked at Dorcas, trying to decide on what to tell her, then she sighed and decided on the truth. "This is only the second time he's been in here... and never." She said flatly.

Dorcas looked surprised. "Why?"

Roxanne shook her head. "I don't know. I'm sorry Dorcas. He only came in here once and I didn't think it was anything to report."

"Well, it's fine. You don't have to tell me every little thing that's happened in your life. I guess I should have owled."

Roxanne shook her head again. "No, I should have trusted you enough to tell you. I just didn't... I really don't know. Sorry."

It was Dorcas's turn to shake her head. "It's fine. But I have to go. I'll see you at James's... maybe." Dorcas turned around and left, making Roxanne feel about 3 feet smaller.

* * *

Remus didn't want to wake up, but the sun didn't want to let him sleep as it shined brightly through his bedroom window. 'My bedroom?' He thought to himself confused. The last thing he remembered was being on the basement couch, his mother bandaging him up after the full moon. He opened his eyes slowly and deducted that he was indeed in his room. He got up gingerly, avoiding putting pressure on his left elbow. 'Must have slammed against something during the night', he mused. He walked over to a mirror above his dresser and assessed his injuries. He always had at least a couple. He scanned his body sadly, seeing that there were more than usual. 'It must be because the wolf missed the other animals.' His werewolf had just gotten used to having others around to keep it company. This is how Remus usually thought about himself as a werewolf. He was Remus and then there was the wolf. He tried to keep them separate. He left his room, making his way to the bathroom so he could get some more bandages and things to clean his injuries. He made his way back to his room and undressed, so he could see his whole body more clearly. He heaved a big sigh, trying not to be bitter. He finished up, got dressed and laid back down in his bed, still tired. He didn't even know what time it was, but he wouldn't have been surprised if he slept all day. About a minute later, he heard a timid knock on his door. "Come in," he said hoarsely. His mother edged into the room, a breakfast tray in her hands.

"Are you hungry dear?" She asked him concerned.

He smiled at her. "Yes. Thanks mum."

She smiled back at him. "Of course dear." She helped him sit up on his pillows and sat the tray in front of him. "Just give me a shout when you're done and I'll come pick it up."

Remus shook his head. "I'll take it back to the kitchen mum. Don't worry."

She smiled at him fondly. "Okay. Eat up. I'll be in the living room if you need anything."

Remus nodded, and she left the room. Remus sighed again. His whole body ached. He tried not to pay to much attention to it, but it wasn't easy. He rubbed a spot on his leg and winced. Apparently he had bitten himself last night and there was a huge gash there that he was certain would become another scar. He chuckled quietly to himself as Sirius's voice came to him. He had told Remus last year that he should be proud of all his scars because they were what men wore. Remus shook his head fondly, then stopped because it hurt too bad, then started in on his food, smiling when he saw all his favorites piled on the plate.

* * *

"Are you going to be okay alone Roxy? I can wait until you are finished," Noah told his daughter.

Roxanne was finishing up a sign to put over the bludger display, and her father was planning on going to Gringotts to put the day's profits in the bank.

Roxanne nodded. "I'll be fine dad. I have my wand in my back pocket. Besides, the bank is going to close if you don't get there soon."

"Okay, are you going to stay until you finish that sign?"

"Yeah, I only need a couple more finishing touches, then I'll lock up and floo home." She told him comfortingly.

Her father smiled. "Okay, I'll see you at home then. Make sure you lock up the back room as well after you put everything away."

Roxanne nodded again. "Got it." Her father smiled again and left.

Roxanne grabbed her black paint to put some marks behind the bludger so it looked like it was flying, when a bell rang out, signaling an entry into the store. She looked up confused, it was almost nightfall and practically nobody was in Diagon Alley this late. She put down her brush and grabbed her wand, making her way to the front of the store.

"Whoa, watch where you're pointing that thing crazy!" Ryan said, throwing his hands up in surrender. "I won't hurt you I swear."

Roxanne rolled her eyes, putting her wand back into her back pocket. "Duh. I would have had you knocked out far before you could even think about doing any damage to me. What?" She asked slightly aggressively, and Ryan looked confused.

"Oh really? Well you're just lucky we can't test that theory out. And what's your problem? I thought you would want me to come back seeing that we got rudely interrupted earlier."

"That's my best friend you are talking about, and we seem to remember things much differently because I don't think there was anything going on that needed to be interrupted."

"Yeah," Ryan said slowly. "I guess we do remember things a lot differently, because I remember the truth. You couldn't have forgotten already, it barely happened this morning!" He told her, sounding quite irritated.

Roxanne sighed. "I'm sorry. This," she waved her hand back and forth between them. "Is not happening. It can't. Dorcas is mad at me because of it."

"Because of me? What have I ever done to her?" He asked disbelievingly.

"Nothing. But she obviously doesn't like seeing us together." Roxanne said shrugging.

"You know what I think?" Ryan said, taking a few steps forward. "I think that this has nothing to do with Dorcas at all. So why don't _you_ want _this_," he waved his hands between them in imitation, "to happen?"

"It's not me."

"Liar. Do I scare you?" He said, his eyebrows raised.

Roxanne scoffed as she noticed Ryan talking more steps toward her. She backed away a few steps. "You could never scare me. I just pick my best friend over complete strangers, that's all."

Ryan went closer. "Is it because I'm a Slytherin? Because you think I'm a Death Eater?"

Roxanne's eyebrows shot up. "I never said that."

Ryan shrugged, taking even more steps toward her, making her step back again. "There has to be a reason you're distancing yourself then, because we both know it's not Dorcas. I'm just trying to find a good reason because you seemed only too ready and willing just a couple hours ago. Or maybe your nipples just get hard without you being aroused."

Roxanne looked scandalized. "You pig. I don't have any idea what you are talking about." She stepped back again, but couldn't go any further, since she had just backed into a wall. Ryan took his chance. He walked right up to her and put his arms on either side of her, his face inches away.

"Yes you do Roxanne. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Now tell me why you are pretending you don't want me, because to me it's pretty damn obvious that you do."

Roxanne could hardly breath. His face was inches from her, he was talking in a low husky voice that was making her heart race, and for the life of her she couldn't come up with a good excuse for why she didn't want him to snog her senseless.

"My reputation will be ruined," she told him lamely.

"Like you care about your reputation," he told her with a smirk on his face. Roxanne looked surprised. "I actually have pretty good hearing. You think I really would have just shown up to Quality Quidditch Supplies randomly? You think I didn't notice you ogling me on the platform?"

Roxanne didn't know what to say. She stammered something incoherently and Ryan chuckled softly. "It's okay. I liked it." He told her suggestively.

"You needed a broom," she said trying to get out of her hole.

"Yeah, luckily," he said shrugging. He put his fingers under her chin and made her look up into his eyes. "Roxanne, I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to do, I'm not that kind of guy. Nod for yes. Shake for no."

Roxanne just looked at him, her mind blank. She was attracted to him. She was not going to deny that, but the bottom line was that she still knew nothing about this guy and she would be snogging a total stranger if she nodded. About a minute passed with the two just staring at each other. Then, surprising herself, Roxanne felt herself nod. It was all Ryan needed. He crushed his body against hers, taking her face in his hands. Roxanne grabbed his wrists bracing herself, and moaned softly. He put his lips onto hers and kissed her passionately. Roxanne closed her eyes, responding with enthusiasm. His hands started roaming her body making her heart race even faster. He grabbed her waist, pulling her up to his height. She responded immediately, wrapping her legs around him, being careful not to break the kisses that were becoming very rapid and insistent. He practically slammed her against the wall in his passion, holding her up with one hand, the other against the wall, helping him stay up. Breathing heavily, his lips made his way to her neck. He sucked lightly on her clavicle, alternating between nibbles and kisses. She moaned again, clawing his back in excitement. She had never been kissed like that before. She had never experienced such an intense make out session. She was surrendering everything to this guy that she barely knew, and she loved everything about it. It was dangerous. He was dangerous.

* * *

"Dorcas? Are you okay?"

Dorcas was shaken out of her thoughts by her mothers words. It was dinnertime at the Meadowes household and Dorcas was sitting in silence, pushing her food around on her plate, lost in what had happened in Diagon Alley.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, just thinking," she told her mother reassuringly.

Her mother nodded, not really convinced.

"I think I'll go to bed, I'm not too hungry," Dorcas told her parents, and she fake yawned to prove her intentions.

"Okay honey. You guys decide when you are going to pile into James's house and drive his parents nuts?" Her father asked jokingly.

"Actually, I may not go. I'm having fun here with you guys, and I can see all my friends at Hogwarts anyway."

Both of her parents eyebrows shot up and they exchanged a look. "Goodnight." Dorcas said, getting up to go to her room.

"Are you sure everything is okay Dorcas?" Her father asked concerned. Dorcas paused. She was teetering on telling them, but how would she explain _that_ to her parents? She didn't even know if it even bothered her that much.

"I'm sure. Love you guys," she told them, and made her way upstairs.

When she made it upstairs, the first thing she saw was James's owl waiting patiently on her desk for her. She relieved the owl of its burden and it flew off.

Dorcas,

How's everything? Sorry about not writing back until now, I left my parents house the day you wrote and they haven't forwarded my mail until today. Great job on your O.W.L.'s, I'm really proud of you. I didn't do so terrible either, just failed History of Magic and I really don't care about that one. So I know I probably sound like a broken record, but any chance of you coming to James's? Peter came today, and Lily and Marlene are on their way tomorrow. Remus can't come for another couple days, he's still recovering from the full moon poor guy. I haven't heard from Roxanne, but I'm sure you have, you guys are inseparable. Well anyway, I'm rambling. I'll see you soon I hope.

Always,

Sirius

Dorcas sighed and put down the letter. She was being silly again. She couldn't avoid Roxanne forever, she was her best friend. She wasn't even mad that it was Ryan, who cares if Roxanne liked a Slytherin? She just couldn't understand why Roxanne didn't tell her about it. She sighed again, pulled a piece of parchment to her and started to write Sirius a reply.

* * *

"I... I.. I have to.. floooo... home..." Roxanne said breathlessly in between kisses. She was half sitting half lying on the stairs leading up to some storage rooms, clutching Ryan's shoulder, her shirt lying on the floor beneath them. Ryan was hanging onto the banister, kneeling on one knee, the other leg draped over her. He kept on kissing her, oblivious to her talking. His tongue grazed her bottom lip, and he tugged lightly on it with his teeth, then moaned. It seemed like what she had said had barely made it to his brain. He brought his mouth up to her earlobe, tugging on that lightly with his teeth as well. "Why?" He whispered in her ear, giving her goosebumps. "I.. I told my.. dad.." her explanation faded into nothingness as he enveloped her in another passionate kiss. Roxanne's senses seemed to come back to her when she glanced outside and noticed it was very dark, stars dotting the part of the sky she could see. She gave Ryan one last hard kiss and sat up. "I really have to go," she told him, still out of breath, covering her chest even though she still had her bra on. He adjusted himself then got off her, sitting on the step next to her. Roxanne got up and went down the stairs, grabbing her shirt, and threw it on. Ryan got up as well and made his way over to her. She was dusting herself off and smoothing down her hair when he stopped her and pulled her close to him. "When will I see you again?" He asked softly.

Roxanne shrugged. "I really don't know. You can come here whenever you want I suppose."

"No, I mean see you, see you. When can we do... _this_ again?" He asked, kissing her softly.

Roxanne broke the kiss looked at him. 'What did I do?' She thought. She shrugged again, not really knowing what to say.

Ryan just nodded. "I'll just see you around. It's obvious you don't want much more than a good snog. You're welcome."

Before Roxanne could say anything, he kissed her on the cheek and left. Roxanne just stared at the door. 'Okay. Now what just happened?' She thought to herself. 'Damn that fucking nod.'

* * *

**A.N. **Hello everyone :) Sorry for the wait, finals were upon me, so I was studying like crazy. However, they are now over and I will probably post close to everyday. Please review. It makes me happy. :D


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter Eight_**  
**

James, Peter, Sirius, Lily and Marlene were all in James's dining room. Marlene and Lily had arrived the day before, and James had just whipped them up a snack. They were all munching and teasing each other.

"Well Marlene, it's pretty obvious. You get kinda misty eyed looking at him," Sirius laughed.

"Oh shut up Sirius. If anyone knows anything about misty eyes its you. Every time you even glance Dorcas's way you get all drooly."

James burst our laughing. "You can't deny that one Padfoot, she does kinda make you a drooly mess." Everyone around the table laughed.

"Don't even get me started James," Sirius said warningly. "I can tell Lily some stories." Everyone but James laughed and Lily just blushed scarlet. "Shut it." James said embarrassed.

"So James's dad has been working on a pool in the backyard for us, would you girls like that?" Sirius said, changing the subject. Marlene and Lily brightened. "That sound great!" Marlene said happily. "Maybe I could actually get a tan this summer."

Lily nodded. "I love to swim, who's idea was that?"

James pointed at himself and Sirius pointed at him too. "It was all James's idea. A stroke of brilliance I never would have expected from my little Prongsie"

James scowled, Marlene and Peter laughed but Lily looked impressed. "That was a great idea James, when will it be ready?" she asked interested.

James beamed. "My dad assured me if not today then tomorrow."

She nodded and smiled. The other three glanced knowingly at each other.

"I had my dad set up a volleyball net too, you guys wanna go play?" James asked, hoping Lily liked volleyball.

"That sounds like fun." Lily said nodding. Everyone else consented as well and they made their way to the backyard for a game.

Meanwhile, Roxanne knocked on James's door, trying to come up with how she would approach the "Ryan subject" with Dorcas. James's mother opened the door and smiled when she saw her.

"Roxanne. Come in dear. How are you?" She asked sweetly.

Roxanne smiled. "I'm fine thanks Mrs. Potter. Is James around?"

"Yep, they just started a game of volleyball in the backyard, I'll show you the way."

Roxanne nodded and followed her. When they made it to the backyard, Lily and James were on one side and Sirius and Marlene were on the other of the volleyball net. Peter was sitting down in the grass a little to the side, clapping his hands and watching happily. "James! Roxanne's here!" His mother called to him. James, instead of volleying the ball, grabbed it, stopping the game. "Hey Roxy!" He called happily. The others waved and said their hello's as well. Roxanne lifted her hand in greeting. "Hey!" She smiled. James's mother put her hand on Roxanne shoulder. "Let me take your bag hon. I've already showed James where everyone's sleeping so he can show you to your room later." Roxanne smiled and handed her the bag. "Thanks again Mrs. Potter."

"Of course dear, of course," and with that she walked away.

Marlene came bounding up to her happily and gave her a hug. "Hey Roxy, come play?"

"No, I think I'll hold off. I'll sit here with Peter." Roxanne told her.

"Okay, but you're missing out!" She said, going back to the game. Roxanne laughed, and grabbed a spot in the grass next to Peter.

"Hey Roxanne," he said smiling. "How has your summer been."

"It's been okay I guess. I've had to work." She said trying not to sound to bitter. "How was yours Pete?"

"It was good. My mom's still pretty sad, she says she likes having me home." Peter said sadly.

Roxanne nodded. Peter's dad had died the year he had come to Hogwarts, putting his mother into a severe depression. Peter was all she had left, which made her cling tightly to him. Roxanne was pretty surprised that his mother let him come. "Was she reluctant to let you come?" Roxanne asked him curiously.

He nodded. "Yeah, but she wants me to have fun," he shrugged. "I can't stay for the whole week, only a couple days, but at least I got that long."

She nodded again. "I understand."

"Dorcas!"

Roxanne turned toward the back door and saw Sirius rushing to his girlfriend. He made her laugh by grabbing her around the waist and twirling her around a couple times.

"Miss me honey?" Dorcas asked jokingly, when Sirius set her down.

"You know I did baby," he told her, winking. He stepped aside so the rest of the group could hug her as well. When everyone got their turn, she smiled around at everyone. She looked over and noticed Roxanne sitting in the grass, fiddling around with her thumbs.

"We were just playing some volleyball," Marlene told her. "Your boyfriend is not very good," she laughed pushing Sirius.

"Oh hush Marlene," he told her smiling. "Wanna play Dorcas?"

"No, you guys go ahead. I'll join in later." She said.

They all nodded and went back to their game, Sirius giving her another hug and a kiss before doing so. She smiled at him then made her way over to Roxanne.

"Hey. Can I sit here?" Dorcas asked.

"Of course." Roxanne said, surprised. Dorcas sat cross legged on the grass. She looked over at Peter. "Think you could give us a minute Pete?"

Peter nodded. "Sure, I'll be in the kitchen if anyone asks."

When Peter walked away, Roxanne was the first to speak. "Dorcas, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you."

Dorcas shook her head immediately. "No Roxy," she said sincerely. "I was just being silly. It was just hard finding out that way.. you know? I was just embarrassed that I interrupted you and so many things were going through my head. I shouldn't have just left like that and I'm sorry."

Roxanne nodded and looked embarrassed. "I didn't mean for things to go that far. He's just... way to handsome for his own good.. you know?"

Dorcas laughed. "Yeah, I understand. You just couldn't help yourself."

Roxanne shook her head and bumped Dorcas lightly with her shoulder.

"How about we play some volleyball?" Dorcas asked her.

Roxanne shook her head. "No, I'll watch, you go ahead."

The girls gave each other a half hug and Dorcas got up, headed to Sirius's side of the net. James immediately yelled foul, saying three against two was unfair, but at that moment, Peter walked back outside and they got him involved. Roxanne watched happily, then a guilty knot weaved into her stomach, making her smile slide off her face. Why didn't she tell Dorcas what had happened between her and Ryan? She just couldn't figure out for the life of her why she wanted to keep it a secret. Ryan was handsome, sexy, confident... she couldn't be ashamed of a guy like that. Was it just that he was a Slytherin? Was she letting some old prejudice dictate who she liked? She shuddered as visions of girl after girl snogging Ryan came to her brain. Okay, so it was that. She didn't want to be played and Ryan was none other than Hogwarts biggest player.

But was it really that? She probed her own feelings. She really didn't know, all she knew was that she couldn't bear it if her friends found out how far she had taken it with Ryan Thompson.

* * *

"Socks, extra boxers, undershirts." Remus was muttering to himself as he got packed to head over to James's. His mother was never satisfied until he packed extras of everything. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and was happy with how his cuts were healing. His mother never really slept on full moons even though they soundproofed the basement, and she always made sure she cleaned his wounds very well right away when he transformed back so he wouldn't scar as badly as he would if they waited. He zipped up his overnight bag and made his way downstairs. His mother and father were in the living room; His father had his nose in a book, and his mother was circling recipes in witch weekly. He cleared his throat and made his presence known.

"Oh son, you ready? You remember to pack your swim trunks?" His father asked. Remus had told them what James was planning.

"Yeah, they're in my bag." He said smiling.

"Okay, then let's get going." His father stood up and took Remus by the arm, after his mother came and gave him a big hug.

"Be good Remus. Owl us if you need anything." His mother told him.

"Okay mum, I will. And I'll be good." He assured her. She gave his father a kiss and they disapparated.

* * *

James was in his room, barely waking up when he heard the knock on the door. 'Must be Remus' he thought. He got up and went downstairs, seeing his friend and his mother in the foyer.

"Hey Remus, a little early huh mate?"

Remus chuckled and James's mother shook her head. "Oh James, if you looked at a clock you would realize that it is eleven in the morning and if you ask any sane person, they would tell you that eleven is not early at all." His mother told him with a wink.

Remus laughed and it was James's turn to shake his head. "Ah well," he said. "Its the holidays."

His mother chuckled. "Breakfast is ready when you are boys." She told them before walking away. James motioned to Remus and they went upstairs to the room they had prepared for him. Remus dumped his stuff on the bed.

"Alright, well I'm going to jump in the shower and put some clothes on. Will you be okay?" James asked Remus.

"Yeah, for sure, I'll be fine. I'll go and get some breakfast. I ate, but why not eat more?" Remus told him with a smile.

James laughed. "Sounds great. Meet you down there in a bit."

Remus nodded and went to the kitchen. James's mother served him a plate and he dug into his meal.

A little while later, Roxanne walked into the kitchen, still in her pajamas, her hair in a messy bun, and slightly bleary eyed. Remus gazed at her fondly. He liked her that way, not worrying about how she looked, just getting up in the morning. He liked when she looked natural. Not that he didn't like the way she looked all dressed up, he just preferred her the way she was now.

"Remus!" She said when she spotted him. "I didn't know you had arrived." She took a seat next to him, poring herself a cup of orange juice.

"Yep, just about 15 minutes ago actually," he told her.

She nodded. "Awesome. You okay?" She asked looking over him critically.

He smiled. "Yeah. Thanks."

She nodded again. "Of course. You know I always care for your well being."

He smiled again. "Have you been here long?"

"No, I got here yesterday afternoon, and so did Dorcas. Lily and Marlene came the day before us and Peter came the day before that, and Sirius has been here for awhile." She rattled off.

"Ah. Last but not least I suppose," he told her jokingly.

"Certainly not least," she told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her hand then looked into her eyes, a smile on his face. They both jumped a little when they heard a loud voice.

"Hey you two! Only Dorcas and I can flirt at the breakfast table!" Sirius and Dorcas had just walked in, each already dressed and with their arms around each other. Roxanne quickly took her hand off Remus's shoulder. "Oh I'm kidding, you guys can flirt all you want." Sirius said winking.

Remus chuckled and Roxanne rolled her eyes. "I was not flirting," she said firmly.

Sirius just shrugged. "You don't have to explain anything to me sweetheart."

Dorcas shoved him lightly. "Leave her alone," she said warningly.

Sirius smiled and pulled Dorcas in for a kiss, making Roxanne roll her eyes again. He was so whipped. They sat down and Mrs. Potter served them as well. "Oh you don't have to do this Mrs. Potter, I can tell everyone to get their lazy bums up and do it themselves," Sirius told her.

She just laughed. "I enjoy it Sirius. You know I adore having you kids around."

James and Lily walked in a few moments later, laughing at something. James was gesturing with his hands and Lily was red in the face from giggling. Everyone smiled at each other and a few seconds later it seemed that James had just noticed everyone gathered around the table. He blushed and led Lily to the table where he took a seat next to Sirius. "Morning all." He said lightly. Everyone mumbled good morning and a silence fell over the table as they all got absorbed in their meals. Marlene entered the kitchen a few minutes later scratching her wet hair. "Good morning everybody!" She said happily. "Oh Remus, I didn't know you got here already," she said, directing her focus to him and blushing for some reason.

"Yeah, this morning. How are you Marlene?" He told her pleasantly.

She smiled at him. "I'm fine."

He nodded and focused again on his food. Roxanne looked between the two of them and noticed there was only a seat left by Dorcas that Marlene seemed reluctant to take. She got up quickly, she was done with her breakfast anyway and needed to get ready. "Here Marley, take my seat. I gotta go take a shower and stuff." Remus looked a little put out, but Marlene beamed.

"Okay, thanks Roxy." Roxanne nodded at her friend and made her way back upstairs.

* * *

When Roxanne made it back downstairs, everyone had moved from the kitchen into the drawing room. Roxanne walked in and saw several things happening. Sirius and James were playing chess while Dorcas watched looking bored. Peter watched Marlene and Remus play cards. They were laughing and teasing each other, Marlene certainly looking pretty misty eyed. Lily was curled up in an armchair, writing something on a piece of parchment.

"Ha. I win!" James said happily, moving his queen.

Sirius looked immensely put out. "You are such a cheat."

"I am not! It's not my fault you just suck at chess!" James said defensively.

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Boys, be calm, it's just a game."

Sirius sat back. "Fine. You win. Enjoy it while you can."

James laughed. "Oh I will."

Roxanne smiled and went to sit in an empty armchair. Just then, James's father came into the room, looking a little tired, but in good spirits. "Well kids, I finally finished it. Go enjoy it." He announced to the room. Everyone looked at him confused so he was forced to elaborate. "The pool? Hot tub? Remember?"

James stood up quickly. "Seriously dad? You're done?"

"Yep. All finished."

"Thanks!" Everyone told him simultaneously. Harold smiled hugely and laughed as they all rushed passed him and upstairs to change into their swimsuits.

* * *

"Cannonball!"

Everyone laughed and lunged out of James's way as he dived into the deeper end of the pool. His father had really outdone himself. The pool was massive and even the hot tub could fit all of them into it comfortably. Lily, James, Sirius and Dorcas were in the pool, mostly just diving in and swimming around. James's mother made sure they had inner tubes and all kinds of fun flotation devices as well.

Marlene had set a towel on the grass, and she laid out, convinced that this was her summer to get a tan. Peter was on the grass next to her, already a little tired from hanging out in the pool.

Roxanne and Remus were in the hot tub. Roxanne wanted to sooth her aching muscles from lifting boxes and Remus was trying to sooth away his aching muscles from the full moon. Remus was having a hard time keeping his eyes off Roxanne in her bathing suit. She was leaning her head back in a corner and had her eyes closed, obviously enjoying the jets and the hot water. Remus scooted closer to her. "Relaxed?" He asked her. She opened her eyes and looked at him happily. "Yeah, this is really nice."

He nodded. "It really is. Want me to rub your shoulders? I know exactly where all your knots probably are."

She hesitated, then mentally shook herself. Remus was her friend."Sure. I have a lot, so you better be prepared for the long haul." She told him jokingly.

He chuckled. "I think I can handle it." He bravely pulled her out of her corner and put himself into it, pulling her practically into his lap. Roxanne's eyes widened, then she melted as Remus started rubbing her shoulders. She moaned quietly. "Okay, so you're pretty good at that."

Remus chuckled again. "Yeah, I'm pretty tense all the time, so I've learned some techniques."

She smiled and leaned into him, barely conscious of anything. He seemed to be hitting every spot that was bothering her and soothing it away. She didn't realize that she kept moaning, but Remus did. He was very aware of her whole body, the way it molded into his, the way her chest rose and fell with her heavy breathing. "How's it feeling?" He said softly into her ear. Roxanne just nodded, trying hard not to fall asleep with how relaxed she was. Remus kept on, making sure he reached every spot on her shoulders, making sure he reached every knot. After awhile, his hands started to get tired, so he stopped and slid his hands down her arms, resting them on her forearms. She barely noticed. Remus knew he should prod her or something and let her know that he was finished, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. For a long time he had convinced himself that he could never get a girl to like him or be close to him. Now his crush was sitting on his lap in a swimsuit. His eyes grazed her body, pausing at the crook of her neck that was exposed to him. He leaned over and kissed it softly, putting his hand back up onto her upper arm. He didn't know what made him do it. He guessed that it had something to do with the fact that he had wanted to do it for so long and when the chance presented itself, he took it.

Roxanne's eyes shot open when she felt the kiss. Did Remus just kiss her? She sat up quickly and looked back at him. He looked back at her guiltily.

"Thanks Remus. That was nice of you... the massage I mean. It was nice. You're nice. Thanks." Roxanne was rambling, at a loss of what else to say.

He nodded, and knew he should bring it up. "Sorry Roxy... I just..."

Roxanne cut him off. "Don't worry. It's over." She didn't give him a chance to say anything else. She jumped out of the hot tub and made her way over to the pool instead. Remus sighed. He didn't mean to freak her out. He looked over at the pool, and noticed Lily and James pretty much gaping at him and he swore quietly. 'They probably saw the whole damn thing.' He didn't have too much time to dwell on it, because Marlene came over and joined him in the hot tub. He smiled at her. "Hey. How's the tan coming along?"

Marlene giggled. "Well, knowing my luck I'll just get burned."

"Well, I'll help you with some aloe vera if that happens," he told her with a wink.

Marlene giggled again. "Thanks, I'll hold you to that."

Remus smiled again and looked out where Roxanne had just jumped in the pool. His insides squirmed guiltily as she still looked pretty surprised. He would have to watch his step from now on. He liked Roxanne a lot and didn't want to ruin his chances with her. Marlene started talking to him, so he pulled himself out of his thoughts to try to pay attention He kept looking at Marlene without really listening. Marlene liked him, he knew that, it was actually pretty obvious. He really didn't want to hurt her, he wasn't that cold blooded, but he couldn't help his feelings for Roxanne and he hoped that she would be able to feel the same way about him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter Nine_**  
**

As night fell and the groups fun in the sun day came to an end, everyone started to dry off and get into some warm clothes. They came back outside to discover that James had set up a fire pit, with some comfy furniture around it so they could roast food on the fire, and look at the stars. Dorcas had a feeling that all of James's ideas were mostly so he could get closer to Lily somehow. They all gathered by the fire, and started laughing and talking. Remus kept stealing covert glances at Roxanne to see if she was still freaked out by what he had done in the hot tub. She didn't really betray much, and Remus wanted to talk to her. A few minutes later he got his chance.

"I think I'll go for a stroll," Roxanne told her friends.

Sirius's eyebrows shot up. "Nope. Not alone. Not at night."

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Okay daddy," she said sarcastically. She got up and started walking away.

"I'll go with you," Remus said, standing up as well.

Marlene's eyebrows shot up, looking from Roxanne to Remus.

"Okay, thanks," Roxanne said quietly, looking at the ground. Remus caught up to her and they disappeared.

Sirius and Dorcas exchanged looks. They couldn't talk plainly with Marlene sitting there, but they silently communicated anyway. Marlene sat back on her lawn chair and looked pretty devastated. Lily dispersed the tension by bringing up a random subject that she knew would cheer up Marlene. It worked, but it seemed that Marlene still looked off into the distance a lot more than once.

* * *

Remus and Roxanne walked along the perimeter of James's house. Some woods covered the farther portions of his backyard, and the pair walked slowly next to the trees. Remus stopped in the shade of a particularly large beech tree and grabbed Roxanne's wrist to make her stop as well.

Roxanne was nervous. "What's up Remus?"

"I like you Roxanne. I really do. Sorry, but I can't hide it anymore." Remus said seriously, surprising himself with his bluntness.

Roxanne's eyebrows shot up. "No you don't." She told him shaking her head. He couldn't like her. He shouldn't.

He looked surprised. "I do. I have for a while now and I just never figured out how to tell you."

She shook her head, but didn't say anything. Remus took a couple steps closer. "So..." he prompted her, hoping she wasn't about to turn him down flat.

Roxanne's head was spinning. First Ryan, now Remus? She bit her lip. She didn't know how to react. She was so very lost and she didn't really know why. How did she feel about Remus? Could she see herself going out with him? She looked up at him, and his eyes shone with anticipation, and it was painfully obvious that he was more than nervous. Remus stepped closer to her again, reminding her painfully of Ryan. Roxanne didn't know what made her do it, but she grabbed his neck, pulled him closer to her and kissed him. Remus replied with enthusiasm. He grabbed her waist and deepened the kiss. A few seconds later, Roxanne panicked and pushed Remus away.

"What's wrong?" He asked her, out of breath.

"Marlene likes you."

Remus didn't look surprised. "I know." He said sighing, and his hands fell limply to his sides as he stared at the ground.

"So, we really shouldn't be doing this. She would be crushed."

"I..." Remus started nervously. "I like you though. Will you just tell me if you like me back?"

Roxanne couldn't answer. She shrugged and Remus looked hurt. He turned away from her and started to walk away sadly.

"Remus wait! Please don't walk away."

He paused. "What else am I supposed to do?" He asked her. He turned back around and faced her, with the same sad look still in his eyes. She went to him and put her hands on his neck again.

"I don't know, but just don't walk away. Please. We can work it out."

Remus shook his head. "I don't think so Roxanne, I should have known... it's okay."

Roxanne was confused. "You should have known what?"

"I'm a werewolf, and I always knew that I would die alone."

For some reason, Roxanne couldn't stand Remus talking about himself like that. She slapped him across the face. He looked immensely surprised.

"What was that for?" He said loudly, holding his face.

"I don't ever want to hear you talk about yourself like that ever again Remus Lupin! Do you understand me?" Roxanne said irritated.

Remus just looked at her. "So why don't you like me, if that's not holding you back?"

Roxanne deflated quickly. "I don't know Remus. I'm sorry," she said quietly. Tears started rolling down her face and she wiped them away in anger. She never cried, she hated showing weakness. Remus came closer to her, wiping her tears away. She jerked her face away from him, angry he had made her do this. It took her a minute to gather herself, but when she did, she sniffed loudly, turned and started to walk away.

"So that's it?" Remus called to her loudly. "Just talk to me Roxy, tell me something real for once."

Roxanne stopped dead. What did that mean? She turned back around. "What does that mean?"

Remus walked up to her. "It means I barely know you. You're so guarded all the time. Help me to."

Barely know you. These words stirred something up in Roxanne's memory, but she couldn't quite place it. Remus placed his fingers under her chin and made her look up at him, making Roxanne have some deja vu that she didn't want to have. His brown eyes were warm, and full of caring when he looked at her. A major opposite from Ryan's blue eyes that were just filled with lust and excitement. He stroked her hair, giving her another pain in her stomach, still looking into her eyes.

"Please Roxanne. Just let me kiss you."

She nodded. 'Fuck.'

* * *

Marlene kept looking at her watch, and Dorcas watched her sadly. Roxanne had _told_ her that she wasn't interested in Remus, so what were they doing?

Lily announced that she had to used the bathroom, so she disappeared into the house. "I think I'm going to grab some marshmallows, anyone want some?" James asked the group. Everyone nodded so James got up. "Anyone wanna help?" Marlene nodded, got up and followed. Peter didn't want to be left behind, so he went too.

Sirius looked seriously at Dorcas. "What do you think they're doing? Roxanne knows Marlene is like head over heels for Remus right?"

Dorcas nodded. "Of course she does. They are probably just talking. They are friends you know."

Sirius scoffed quietly. "I feel so bad for Marley. It's obvious that Remus is in love with Roxanne. Did you see them in the hot tub earlier?"

Dorcas nodded again. "Yes, they're friends..." she didn't really know what else to say. She wanted to defend Roxanne, and she was pretty sure that she wouldn't do anything to hurt Marlene. Roxanne knew Marley adored him, and she wasn't the type of person that would do anything to hurt any of her friends. Right?

"He kissed her Dorcas. He's just lucky Marlene didn't see that."

"Yeah, but did you see how quickly Roxy got away from that situation? After he kissed her she barely stayed with him for another two seconds. She knows how Marlene feels about him."

"Well, even if they are not doing anything, Marlene sure thinks they are," Sirius said sadly.

Dorcas wanted to say more but couldn't because the rest of the group was making their way back to the fire pit. So she just rubbed Sirius's back reassuringly. "It'll be fine."

Sirius nodded, then smiled at her. "You're the best Dorcas. Have I told you that lately? I really..."

She never found out what Sirius really, because James took that moment to say: "Marshmallows! Come and get em!" Everyone laughed and grabbed a marshmallow.

* * *

The whole time that Remus kissed Roxanne, she kept thinking about Ryan, which made her feel like a horrible person and of course it also irritated her to no end. She kept noticing subtle differences in the way they kissed. Remus was soft, caring and unsure when it came to kissing her. Ryan on the other hand, was hard, passionate, insistent and supremely confident. Kissing Ryan passed her by in a whirl of color and passion and she barely had any time to think, but Remus was different. He explored every inch of her mouth almost painfully slowly, taking his time, savoring each moment. Neither was better, they were just different. They broke apart, each out of breath. "You have soft lips," she told him awkwardly.

Remus nodded, and leaned in for another kiss. Roxanne stopped him. "Please Remus don't. I already feel terrible. Marlene is going to freak on me and I wouldn't be surprised if she never wanted to talk to me again."

Remus looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry. I'll take the blame."

Roxanne just shook her head. "It's my fault, I told you yes. Can we please just not tell anyone about this? I really don't want Marlene to find out."

"I understand. If we're going to be together though, we'll have to tell her eventually."

Roxanne didn't want to fight, so she just nodded. "Not tonight."

Remus nodded too. "Not tonight." He gave her one last light kiss on the lips and they walked back to their friends.

Marlene was of course the first one to spot the pair when they arrived back at the fire pit. "There you guys are, I was just about to send out a search party." She told them, not able to keep the jealously out of her voice.

Remus chuckled. "James does have a pretty big yard."

Roxanne stayed quiet and just took up her seat again, reaching for a marshmallow.

There was an awkward silence, then Remus broke it. "Did you guys see that Daily Prophet that came out about a week ago, talking about all the werewolf attacks?"

Everyone looked at him sadly, nobody really knowing what to say. Remus just nodded. "That's why we took so long. I had kinda become a bit of a hermit after it came out. My parents left it on their couch and I read it and took it badly. Roxanne was reassuring me about it."

Roxanne couldn't believe her ears but tried to look like the story was not new to her. He was actually lying to his friends, something Remus never did. He lied to save her friendship with Marlene.

Marlene looked like she was about to cry. "Oh Remus. I was crushed after I read it. Those people really don't know what they are talking about." She told him, and she placed a placating hand on his knee. He took it, holding it in both of his hands. "Thanks Marlene, that means a lot."

Marlene was instantly happier. The tension dispersed and the group started laughing and talking again; Remus not looking once Roxanne's way, holding Marlene's hand for the rest of the night. Dorcas however, did glance at Roxanne every once in a while. She was not convinced.

* * *

Roxanne was getting ready for bed when she heard a soft knock at her door. She stared at it nervously. What if it was Remus? She swallowed and crossed over to it. "Oh Dorcas, hey. Come in."

Dorcas smiled and walked in the room, making herself comfortable on the bed.

"What's up?" Roxanne asked her as she rummaged around in her bag to find some sweats.

Dorcas stopped smiling. "I just wanted to know what really happened in the woods."

Roxanne's stomach clenched. "What do you mean? With Remus? Nothing. Well he told you... we talked."

Dorcas scoffed quietly and shook her head, then stood up to leave. "Fine."

Roxanne stopped her. "Hey. What? What's wrong?"

"Look Roxy, I understand why you wouldn't want Marlene to find out, she would be devastated. But I just can't figure out why you seem to be trusting me a whole lot less nowadays."

Roxanne looked surprised. "I trust you Dorcas. Why would you say that?"

Dorcas just shook her head again and kept walking toward the door.

"Okay. We kissed." Roxanne said loudly, exasperated.

Dorcas groaned, and turned back to her friend. "Why Roxanne? You know how Marlene feels about him."

"I know. It didn't go any farther than that. I told him not to tell because I knew how Marlene would feel about it. It will never. Happen. Again. I promise." Roxanne said, trying to convince herself as well.

Dorcas didn't know what to say. "Who started it?" Was all she could really come up with.

"He did. He was the one who offered to rub my back in the hot tub, he was the one that kissed me; He was the one that wanted to walk with me and he was the one that kissed me again. I really don't know why I let him. I'm sorry Dorcas." Roxanne told her quickly.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to." Dorcas said seriously.

Roxanne looked down guiltily. "He just kept telling me how much he liked me and he just looked so sad. Then he told me he should have known all along that he would never get me to like him. He blamed it on the fact that he's a werewolf."

Dorcas looked sympathetic for the first time. "I understand."

"You do?" Roxanne looked up hopefully.

"Yes, but for goodness sake Roxy, don't let it happen again!"

Roxanne half smiled. "I promise. I'll stay away." She said, hoping to herself she wasn't lying.

"So what about Ryan?" Dorcas asked.

Roxanne's eyebrows shot up, surprised. "What about him?"

"Are you going to see him again?"

Roxanne hesitated and she could not figure out why. "No. I really don't think so." She said firmly, not forgetting his last words to her.

Dorcas just nodded. "Okay, well I'll see you in the morning. We're doing whatever Peter wants because he has to leave in the afternoon."

Roxanne nodded too. "Okay, see ya."

Dorcas smiled and left. Roxanne collapsed onto the bed. Why? _Why_ did she keep lying about the most stupid things? She buried her face in her hands. Ryan. Remus. Marlene. Dorcas. 'Why do I always have to nod? It's like I have two buttons, nod and kiss.' "Fuck!" She exclaimed, frustrated. "I'm cutting myself off. I'll be a hermit for the rest of my life so no one gets hurt." She stayed lost in her thoughts, deeply confused.

* * *

**A.N. **Hello again everyone :) I hope everyone had a merry holiday, those of you who celebrated anyhow. Hope you liked this chapter. Please Review.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter Ten_

Roxanne groaned loudly as she tossed and turned. Her mind was so filled with thoughts that she couldn't get her brain to shut up and let her sleep. She got up and left her room quietly. She went down to the kitchen and was surprised to see James's mother sitting at the kitchen table, tears in her eyes. Roxanne hesitated, thinking about leaving, but then her curiosity got the best of her and she walked in.

"Mrs. Potter? Are you okay?"

The woman jumped, making Roxanne stutter an apology. Mrs. Potter sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"Don't worry about it dear. Can I get you anything?"

Roxanne smiled. "Some milk if you have it would be great."

Elizabeth smiled and got up, pouring Roxanne a glass of milk. She gestured to her to join her at the table. Roxanne went and sat, drinking her milk appreciatively.

"So what are you doing up at three in the morning Roxanne?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"My brain just refuses to shut up. How about you?"

She shook her head. "Just having all you kids here. It makes me think of what could have been."

Roxanne looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry Mrs. Potter, must be hard on you."

She shook her head again. "No, I've learned that things happen for a reason. I'm okay, just being silly." She wiped her face again, sniffing slightly. "So, troubled thoughts?"

Roxanne nodded. "Yeah, I don't think I've ever been so confused in my life."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Elizabeth asked concerned.

Roxanne hesitated. She didn't really know James's mother, but she seemed nice enough. It would probably be really nice to have an outsiders look at things. Before Roxanne could stop herself, she ended up telling her everything. Elizabeth just listened, not betraying any emotion, not interrupting once.

A full twenty minutes later, Roxanne had gotten everything off her chest and sighed hugely. "I just don't know, and it's bugging the shit out of me. Usually I'm so sure of myself, and I've always been so good at knowing my own feelings, but it just seems like ever since I met Ryan I've just been so messed up. The most stupid thing about it? Is that there is not even a good reason why I've been so weird. I just have been, and that's a lot worse than having a good reason personally." James's mother nodded. "There, now you know all my crazy." Roxanne sighed again.

Elizabeth chuckled. "You're not crazy Roxanne. You are a 16 year old girl! Of course you don't know who you are or what you want. You're acting like a teenager and why is that bad? I have to say that lying definitely is not the answer though. You should trust your friends enough to tell them the truth. If they really are your friends, they won't judge you. I know it can be hard, because believe it or not, I was a teen once. You just have to make your choices carefully, because you are the one that is going to have to live with them."

Roxanne smiled gratefully. "You're right. Thanks Mrs. Potter. You don't know how much better I feel."

"Good. I'm so glad I could help." She looked at her watch. "Goodness, it's almost four in the morning. You better get some sleep."

Roxanne nodded, put her glass in the sink and walked toward the door, pausing before she left. "Are you going to be okay?"

Elizabeth nodded and smiled. "I'll be fine."

Roxanne nodded too. "Okay. Night." She left the kitchen and went to her room, finally able to drift off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Peter wanted to eat his breakfast outside, so the eight friends took a blanket outside and set up a breakfast picnic.

"Are you okay?" Dorcas asked Roxanne who was looking distinctly tired.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just pretty tired." Roxanne answered with a yawn.

After breakfast, they all said their goodbyes to Peter whose mother wanted him home. She came for him and they disapparated together. After that, everyone went their separate ways. James took Lily out into the village to show her around, and Marlene and Remus went with them. Roxanne retreated to her room to nap, and Sirius and Dorcas settled themselves in Sirius's room. Sirius was sprawled out on the bed while Dorcas made herself comfortable on a chair next to the bed. Sirius was telling her about the disastrous O.W.L result fiasco that went down with his parents.

"My mother actually chucked them at my head. Can you believe that?"

Dorcas rubbed his arm. "No. I'm sorry Sirius, that really sucks."

He shook his head. "Ah, no worries, I'm just happy I'm out of there. I don't know what my dad has planned for the Christmas holiday, but I'm pretty much dreading it. It must be something important that we have to look like a happy little family for. Why else would he have been so insistent on me coming home?"

Dorcas shrugged. "Who knows what it could be."

Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the bed with him. He gazed happily into her face and ran a hand though her hair. "You're so beautiful Dorcas. You really are."

She blushed and pushed him lightly. "Oh hush, everyone knows you are the adorable one in this relationship."

He laughed. "Can't argue with that logic," he said jokingly with a wink.

She just shook her head. Sirius ran a hand up her body, then cupped her face in his hand. He leaned over and kissed her softly. "Would I freak you out if I told you something?" He asked her softly.

Dorcas's eyes widened. "Depends. What is it?"

"I..." He couldn't get the rest of the words out, due to the fact that Dorcas grabbed his neck and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. She rolled him around on his back and got on top of him, tucking her hair behind her ears. After a few minutes, Sirius was so absorbed in their kissing that talking seemed irrelevant.

* * *

Remus walked upstairs, telling Lily, James and Marlene that he had to get something out of his trunk. He paused at his door then instead, made his way to Roxanne's room just to check on her, and let himself in. She was lying in her bed in the fetal position, her hair a tangled mess. She was also snoring lightly, making Remus smile. He hesitated for a couple minutes, then he walked over and crawled lightly into the bed, spooning her from the back. He stroked her hair lightly and made her stir. She turned her body around, and feeling his body, she snuggled close against his chest. "Always with the aftershave?" She said distinctly, her eyes still closed. Remus smiled again and studied her. He gazed at her long black eyelashes and her full pink lips. She was under the covers, but he could still make out the bumps of her breasts and the curve of her butt. He lifted her chin softly, and she complied, her face moving as he wished. He stroked her cheek and gave her a soft kiss. She moaned happily and puckered up again, as if waiting for another kiss. He smiled again and kissed her more deeply. She moaned again sleepily and moved slightly so she was more under him. He climbed on top of her, not breaking the kiss, excitement flowing though him. Roxanne felt the weight of something on top of her and opened her eyes slowly, quickly realizing that it was Remus and she also realized that she was kissing him! She made a scared noise and pushed him off of her. "Remus! What are you doing?" She said furiously. Without waiting for an answer, she got out of bed, fuming. "Get out! What on earth is going on?" She started panicking. "What all did we do?"

Remus got up quickly. "Nothing Roxanne! I just came in to check on you!"

"Check on me? Why?" She asked. Her brain seemed to be moving slowly.

"We just got back from the village and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm perfectly fine Remus. And perfectly capable of taking care of myself! How does checking on me involve getting into bed with me? How does your brain go from checking on me to kissing me? While I'm asleep! How did that seem like a good idea?" Roxanne almost yelled.

"Roxanne please don't yell. I'm sorry, I got carried away. You just looked so adorable. And... and my body just kinda took over. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" Remus said, not being able to look her in the eyes.

Roxanne sighed. He looked it. He looked really surprised and guilty about what he had done and she couldn't be mad at him. "Okay. Fine. But please, don't. We. Cannot. Do this. Marlene is right downstairs."

Remus nodded. "Sorry." He said quietly, leaving the room.

Roxanne sighed and rubbed a hand against her forehead, a guilty feeling coming into her stomach. She was so glad she didn't accidentally say Ryan's name. She was dreaming about him, which of course was why she was so willing to let Remus kiss her. How messed up was she? Thinking about one guy while making out with the other? She was just glad Remus didn't get the aftershave comment she made. What a crazy way to wake up.

* * *

Dorcas awoke early the next morning, amazed at how she could sleep with the bright sun in her room and the birds in the tree outside her window making such a racket. She tossed for about ten minutes before she gave sleep up as a bad job and got up. Grabbing a scrunchie, she tossed her hair up, found a jacket and put it on, planning on going to the kitchen to get something to drink. She walked out her door to see Roxanne, fully dressed, walking down the hallway, a bag on her shoulder. "Roxanne? What are you doing?" She asked quietly.

Roxanne jumped and turned around to face her friend. "Dorcas, hey, nothing. What are you doing?"

Dorcas's eyes narrowed. "Are you leaving? Why on earth wouldn't you tell anyone?"

Roxanne sighed. "It's just getting a little too awkward and I think that it would be better for everyone if I just left."

Dorcas frowned. "Come on. Let's go to my room and talk." She grabbed Roxanne by the arm and led her to her room. She settled herself on the bed, and motioned for Roxanne to do the same. Roxanne sighed, put down her bag and joined her on the bed.

"Now tell me what's going on." Dorcas said curiously.

Roxanne sighed again. "I just gotta get out of here. Remus is... well he just likes me way to much, and if I wasn't here, he could focus on Marlene and see how much he likes her."

Dorcas frowned again. "That's not the answer Roxy. He won't just magically start liking Marlene because you are gone. Especially if you disappeared without telling anyone, he would be thinking about you even more."

Roxanne didn't know what to say, so she just shook her head. "Remus came into my room yesterday after everyone got back from the village to "check on me"." He ended up getting into bed with me and kissing me while I was asleep."

Dorcas's eyebrows shot up. "That doesn't sound like Remus."

"Exactly! I'm making him turn into some horndog teenager. Which is exactly why I need to get away from him." Roxanne said seriously.

Dorcas started laughing. Roxanne looked up at her confused. The last thing she wanted to do was laugh. "You really think that you are the one that is turning him into a horndog?" Dorcas asked, still chuckling. "Now, we do consider Remus the logical thinker of the Marauders, but the bottom line is that he is still a Marauder and not completely innocent. Don't blame his teenage hormones on your... prowess with the boys."

Roxanne was speechless. She never really thought about it like that. Was she being _that_ egotistical to think that it was her that was making Remus act the way he was, when it was probably just the fact that he was around pretty girls? She started chuckling too. "Have I been dumb or what? I really wanted it to be all about me." The two girls started laughing, and for a long time, they couldn't stop.

* * *

The next two days passed without to much incident, unless you counted Sirius finally beating James at chess and making sure that everyone chanted his name for a full five minutes. When the night before their departure arrived, James's mother made a huge dinner and everyone ate merrily and talked, forgetting all their troubles and just enjoying being together.

The next morning, Lily was the first to go. Her parents came to pick her up in their car, the purebloods of the group being particularly interested in that form of transportation. It made Dorcas glad to see that the week accomplished at least one thing; James and Lily could be in a room for more than five minutes without snapping at each other. Roxanne was the next to go. She carefully avoided a hug with Remus and just waved to him instead, stepping into the fire to floo home. Marlene left after that, doing the opposite of Roxanne and making sure she gave Remus and extra long hug. Remus's dad arrived about a half hour later and apparated home with him, leaving James with Sirius and Dorcas. James excused himself to go upstairs after saying goodbye to Dorcas, leaving her and Sirius to say goodbye.

"Come visit again?" Sirius asked her.

"I don't know if I'll be able to. I still have all my holiday work to do and my parents were talking about going to visit some family." She said honestly.

Sirius just nodded looking put out. "But hey, we'll have Hogwarts. I won't really be able to get away from you there." She told him with a wink.

Sirius smiled and laughed. "You'll figure out a way."

She laughed too. "I won't, because I just won't want to."

He smiled at her, then brought her closer, giving her a sweet kiss. "So I never go to tell you what I wanted."

Dorcas's stomach clenched. How could she stop it this time? "Maybe you shouldn't." She blurted out.

Sirius looked confused. "Why not?"

"Well, I dunno. But can I ask you a question first?" She asked quickly.

He nodded. "Oookay."

"If you told me what you want to tell me, would you expect an answer?"

Sirius looked even more confused at that. "Well... kinda. Yes."

She shook her head sadly, not really knowing where her doubts were coming from. "Okay, then maybe you shouldn't."

"Why?"

"Just because I don't know if I'll be able to give you an answer you'll like"

Sirius looked upset. "Fine. Then I won't tell you." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I hope you have a great rest of the summer. Have fun with your holiday homework."

Dorcas put a hand on his chest. "You're mad. Please don't be mad at me."

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not mad at you Dorcas, I just don't really understand."

She nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I just need a little more time."

He nodded too. "Okay. Then I won't pressure you. When you're ready, say it." He smiled. "I'll miss you Dorcas."

She smiled too, relief flooding her body. "I'll miss you too. You don't know how much this means to me. Thank you for being the best boyfriend ever."

He beamed. "Well, I do try."

She laughed. "I'll see you soon. Let me know when you plan to go to Diagon Alley to get your things for school and I'll most likely meet you there."

"Sound's great," he nodded. "I'll write."

Leaning into him, she gave him a long kiss. When they broke apart, she smiled at him again, then got into the fireplace and flooed home.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter Eleven_

"Okay, thanks a lot. You have a good day sir."

Roxanne sighed deeply as yet another customer left Quality Quidditch Supplies. It was a couple of weeks before the start of term, and many Hogwarts students were starting to flood into Diagon Alley. Everyone who roamed the street, Roxanne noticed, looked very stressed and nervous and tried to get their shopping done quickly. She heard the bell ring out again and looked over at the front door to see Ryan stroll trough the door followed closely by Rhiannon. Roxanne quickly looked around for her father who she hoped could deal with the two, but he was no where to be seen. The pair walked up to the counter, Rhiannon sneering and Ryan's face was unreadable.

"Hello Bennett. Work here?" Rhiannon asked condescendingly.

"Yes. My father owns the store. What can I do for you?" Roxanne asked, forcing politeness.

"Well," she started, turning toward Ryan and putting a hand on his chest. "It was Ryan's birthday a couple days ago and silly me, I forgot all about it. So, I told him that I would buy him some new trousers that will last him during the more rough Qudditch games." She gave Ryan a quick peck on the cheek. She turned to Roxanne and smiled.

Roxanne felt her face start getting red. "Okay, well, what size were you looking for?"

Rhiannon shrugged and looked at Ryan. "I have a 35 inch waist and 32 inches in length is best." He told her.

Roxanne nodded jerkily and searched underneath the counter for an order form. What did he think he was doing? Coming into her father's shop and parading Rhiannon in front of her trying to make her jealous? 'Well, the joke is on you because it's not working you twat.' She thought savagely.

She set the order form on the counter, motioning Rhiannon forward. "Okay, so we don't keep his size in stock, so what we're going to have to do is fill out this order form and you'll have to give a bit of a down payment. I'll put the date that it is supposed to come, which shouldn't be more than a week or so, and you can come pick them up and pay the rest. Only if you like them. If you don't, we'll just give you your down payment back and put the trousers on the shelf. How does that sound?"

Rhiannon nodded. "That sounds fine. I see that I have to sign."

Roxanne nodded too. "Yeah, go ahead and make sure everything is correct and that the price is what you want to pay, then go ahead and sign."

While Rhiannon perused the document, Roxanne looked up at Ryan who had been staring at her the whole time. She contracted her eyebrows at him and he smirked. He winked at her and kissed the air. Her eyes widened, then she rolled them, resisting the urge to start screaming at him.

"Okay, do you know the exact date they will come in?" Rhiannon asked when she was done signing the paper.

"Umm, yeah." Roxanne checked a chart and wrote the date on the paper. She then signed it as well and gave a copy to Rhiannon.

"Okay, and here is the down payment."

Roxanne took it and put it in the cash register. "Okay, thanks, have a good day." She said and Rhiannon nodded. "Well this was nice. See, we don't always have to be butting heads." Roxanne said cheerfully, pounding her two fists together to emphasize.

Rhiannon rolled her eyes. "Okay," she said sarcastically.

Roxanne just shrugged. Rhiannon turned to leave and held out a hand for Ryan. He gave Roxanne another wink and smirk and put his arm around Rhiannon's shoulder. They left the store, paused in front of the window so Ryan could give her a soft kiss while he knew Roxanne was looking, then they disappeared.

Roxanne's mouth dropped angrily and she scoffed. She stood there fuming for a few minutes, getting to the point were she kicked the counter in anger. Rhiannon? Rhiannon? He just had to pick her to come into the store with! "I can't believe him," she told herself under her breath. Roxanne ran a hand trough her hair, and paced up and down, trying to calm herself. 'What was he playing at? Winking at me and kissing the air like that. What a jerk! I have half a mind to go find them and let Rhiannon know exactly what happened between us.' "UGH!" She kicked the counter again. She had seen the two together before, but she didn't know that they had still hung out. They might have even been dating at some point, but she didn't know. She did know that Ryan had already had most of the Slytherin girls anyway, so it wasn't a surprise that he was with Rhiannon. Not that the thought made her feel any better. She sat on a stool at the register, the anger ebbing out of her. She didn't even know what she was angry about. She didn't even like Ryan all that much. Did she?

* * *

After Ryan and Rhiannon left the store, he thanked her for the birthday present and left the alley, seeing as he had finished all of his shopping. Rhiannon went to go find her mother who had brought her, and slammed into something hard.

"Hey! Watch where you are going berk!" She said angrily as she figured out it was a person.

"Geez Rhiannon, sorry." Cameron Adams, a Gryffindor student that shared the Marauders dorm, said, smiling at her and putting his hands up in surrender.

Rhiannon shook her head. "Oh hi Cameron"

"Bad summer?" He asked her with a wink.

She smiled a little. "No, I just don't appreciate when random people bump into me that's all."

Cameron chuckled. "If I remember correctly, you are the one that bumped into me."

"You'll never be able to prove it."

Cameron laughed out loud. "And so I won't. Okay, I admit defeat. You're very hard to argue with."

"That's why most people don't." She told him jokingly. She then studied him. 'He sure grew up this summer.' She mused, noticing that his voice was getting a lot deeper. Cameron had short brown hair, bright blue eyes and facial hair that made him look slightly older. He had a soft Scottish accent that Rhiannon loved and with his easy humor and laid back attitude, he was very easy to get along with.

He laughed again. "Where were you going on your mission anyway?"

"Oh, just to find my mom. We got separated so I was off to look for her."

He nodded. "I see. So you absolutely have to go now? Wanna go get an ice cream or something?"

"With you?" She asked surprised.

He shrugged and put his hands up in surrender again. "Never mind. See ya Rhiannon."

Rhiannon hesitated, about to call him back, then stopped herself. What if Bellatrix had seen her talking to him? She never would hear the end of it. She took one last glance at his back, and firmly shaped butt, then she chided herself and went on her way to find her mother.

* * *

When Marlene and Remus walked into Quality Qudditch Supplies a little while later, Roxanne had mostly calmed down and was wiping down the glass display cases with a rag. The first thing Roxanne noticed was that they were holding hands.

"Hey Roxy!" Marlene said happily.

"Hey guys. All right?" She asked them with a smile. She noticed Remus looked a little awkward.

"Yes, I'm perfect. Guess what?" Marlene asked with the air of announcing something huge.

"What?" Roxanne asked curiously.

"Remus asked me out! We're dating now!"

Roxanne smiled hugely, laughing only on the inside. She was expecting her to say that she was getting married or becoming the prime minister. "Oh that's wonderful! Congratulations you two! I always knew it would work out!"

Marlene nodded happily. "Yeah, talk about unexpected. We were just getting some stuff for Potions and he asked me! Oh I was so surprised."

Roxanne smiled again. "That's really awesome. I'm sure it'll be absolutely fantastic."

Marlene nodded again then blushed. "Do you have a bathroom Roxy? I've had to go for awhile."

Roxanne chuckled. "Yeah, go ahead and go in the back room and it's on your left."

"Okay, thanks. I'll be right back." She gave her bags to Remus and a kiss on the cheek and walked to the back room.

Remus looked awkward again and Roxanne looked at him, hoping he wouldn't say anything. Roxanne felt pretty bad because he had written her about five times after they left James's house asking her if they could take their "relationship" to the next level and Roxanne didn't answer a single one of them.

"I wrote, you know. Did you get them?" Remus asked her softly, as if reading her mind.

Roxanne shrugged. "Yes, I received them."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Okay, so why didn't you write me back?"

"Because I didn't really know what to say."

He scoffed softly. "All I needed was one word. Yes or no. I thought you wanted to. You told me in the woods..."

Roxanne cut him off. "Remus I'm sorry. I just said that so we would stop fighting. I never wanted to be with you in the first place."

Remus looked hurt. "Then why would you say that?"

Roxanne went out from behind the counter and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Remus. I didn't mean to get your hopes up, but you were just so persistent and it seemed like you wouldn't take no for an answer. I just didn't want anyone to get hurt."

"Well congratulations. You did a fantastic job." He said sarcastically.

She sighed sadly. "Please don't be mad at me Remus. We could never have been together. I already felt bad enough for what we did. Marlene is one of my best friends and it would have crushed her to see us together no matter what. I really am sorry."

Remus sighed too. "I'm not Roxy. I'm not mad, and you're right. I was pretty pushy and I'm sorry. I just liked you so much it was hard to stop myself."

She nodded. "It's okay Remus. I really do understand. Please just tell me you're not with Marlene so you can make me jealous."

Remus smiled softly and shook his head. "She wrote me a lot after we left James's and I really got to know her a lot better. I like her. I really do."

Relief flooded though Roxanne. "You guy's really seem like you make a good match and I just want you guys to be happy. I really do. I would hate it if we all couldn't be friends."

He nodded. "I like being your friend Roxanne. I'm glad we sorted everything out."

She smiled. "Yeah me too. And again, I'm really sorry for not answering any of your letters. I really just wimped out."

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. It taught me to not be so crazy about my crushes."

She laughed. "I don't think Marlene would mind if you bombarded her with anything though. She really is head over heels for you."

"I know. Poor girl can't help herself." He said jokingly with a smile.

"Oh yes I can Remus Lupin." Marlene said with a smile coming out of the back room.

Remus smiled at her. "No you can't. You adore me."

Marlene laughed and kissed Remus on the cheek. "Thanks for letting me use the bathroom Roxy."

Roxanne laughed. "Of course. I'm not that cruel to where I would make you hold it in."

The three friends laughed together. "Well, we gotta go, I told my mom we would meet her at Flourish and Blotts to get our school books." Marlene said.

Roxanne nodded. "Okay sounds good. I'll see you guys on the Hogwarts Express."

Remus and Marlene both nodded too and left.

Roxanne waved as her friends walked out the door. She was so happy that they were together, but of course she also felt guilty for what she and Remus had done. All she could really do was hope that Marlene would never find out.

* * *

Dorcas glanced up and down the street when she arrived in Diagon Alley, just to make sure that there was nobody suspicious about. Everyone she saw looked pretty nervous so she loosened her grip on her wand slightly. Her mother and father allowed her to keep it with her at all times, even though she was underage. They told her that they would rather deal with an underage magic charge then have their daughter get hurt in any way. She stopped in front of Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor, which she was surprised was still open, and waited for any sign of Sirius who she was supposed to meet.

"Hey."

Dorcas jumped about a mile when she heard the soft voice behind her. "Oh my GOD! What is your problem SIRIUS?" She shouted, frustrated and clutching her heart. She turned around to discover that it was not Sirius at all, but Cameron Adams.

"I'm so sorry Dorcas. Are you okay? I really didn't mean to scare you." He told her concerned.

She sighed, still clutching. "Oh I'm fine. You just scared me out of my wits!"

"I'm sorry. Really. I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to say hi."

She nodded and managed a smile. "It's okay, come here." She pulled him in for a hug. "How are you Cameron? How was your summer?"

"Oh, it was fine, just hung out with some family." Right at that moment, a voice rang out. "Cameron? Hey!" Dorcas and Cameron turned to see Mary Mac walking toward them, a smile on her face. When she got closer, she realized that it was Dorcas he was talking to.

"Dorcas! Hey!" Mary exclaimed happily.

The two girls hugged. "Hey Mary. How was your summer?" Dorcas asked.

"It was absolutely terrible. All I did was hang out with this guy!" She said jabbing a thumb at Cameron.

Cameron laughed. "You did not have to do that, you could have hung out with Auntie Abigail! She would have loved to spend some time with you."

Mary made a face. "Yeah, she would have made me rub her bunions off her feet."

It was Cameron's turn to make a face. "God Mac. Gross."

Mary laughed. Dorcas was confused. "Hold on. You guys are related?" She asked.

They both looked at her surprised. "Yeah, cousins... you didn't know that?" Mary told her.

Dorcas shook her head. "No, I didn't."

Cameron chuckled. "Yeah, unfortunately my mother is her mother's sister."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Oh unfortunately my arse. Your mothers shining moment was when she was born into the same family as my mother."

Cameron stuck out his tongue. Dorcas laughed watching the cousin's exchange.

"Oh, I see Marlene and Remus, I'm going to go say hi... I'll be right back." Mary said. She walked over to the bookshop where Marlene and Remus were standing looking at a display.

"I can't believe I never knew you two were cousins. Did you ever tell me before?" Dorcas asked Cameron.

He shrugged. "It's not something I usually want people to know." He said seriously.

Dorcas laughed. "Oh she is not that bad."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "You don't have to lie Dorcas. I won't tell her if you tell me all kinds of bad stuff about her."

Dorcas laughed again. "You're terrible."

Cameron just smiled. "So how was your summer Dorcas? Mary told me you guys all went to James's. How was that?"

"It was fun." Dorcas nodded. "It was great just being around friends and relaxing. James has got such a nice place and his parents are really nice too. It was great because they set up a pool and everything so that was fun."

Cameron nodded. "That sounds like fun. Did you do pretty well on your O.W.L.'s? I bet you did, you're a smart girl."

Dorcas blushed. "Well, I did okay. Three Outstandings."

Cameron looked impressed. "Yeah I'm pretty sure that's the definition of okay."

Dorcas smiled. "How did you do?"

"Not okay if we're comparing to you," he told her jokingly.

She shoved him lightly. "Oh shush. I'm sure you did wonderfully."

He smiled. "Yeah, I didn't do too bad. Just one Outstanding in Care of Magical Creatures. I'm pretty sure it's what I want to go into."

"Oh really? You want to work at the Ministry or be more hands on?" She asked curiously.

"Probably more hands on, but we'll see. Still have a couple more years to figure that one out."

She nodded. "That's very true."

They were silent for a moment. A comfortable silence, Dorcas noticed. She took the chance to scan him over. 'Man, did he grow up or what?' She asked herself. He had filled out, his chest more muscular than it had been before and he also grew some facial hair which suited him perfectly.

Cameron noticed her staring. "You can take a picture if you'd like." He told her jokingly.

Dorcas blushed scarlet. "No, it's fine. I'll just... no... I wasn't.. well I just..." She stuttered, not knowing what to say.

He chuckled softly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. I was just joking."

She shoved him lightly. "You are not very nice." She shook a finger at him.

He chuckled. "Oh, I'm very nice, you just have to coax it out of me."

Dorcas smiled, looking into his eyes. They were a very bright blue, like a clear sky. He smiled back at her and tucked a stray piece of hair that was in her face behind her ear. His touch gave her goosebumps. They stayed looking into each others eyes for a moment, then they seemed to come to their senses. Dorcas backed away a step, because somehow she had gotten very close to him. He looked down at the ground, embarrassed.

Dorcas cleared her throat. "So what did you do with your family this summer?"

He opened his mouth to answer but couldn't because at that moment, another voice rang out, interrupting their conversation.

"Dorcas!"

She turned around to see Sirius, James and Peter all walking toward her. She smiled in greeting. "Hey guys."

When the three boys made it to her, Sirius took her in his arms immediately and kissed her deeply, making Cameron back up a step or two.

"Hey Cam!" James told him, shaking his hand. "All right?"

Cameron nodded. "Yeah, I'm great. How have you been James?"

James nodded too. "I've been good. Not too bad. Kinda sad the summer is almost over."

"Yeah, I wish it could have lasted longer." Peter chimed in.

Cameron nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"So how was it?" James asked him. "What did you do."

"Oh, just hung out with some family. Dorcas was just telling me you guys got together at your house." Cameron said.

James nodded. "Yeah, it was great. Really relaxing. Hanging out mostly. Didn't want to overexert myself too much."

Cameron laughed. "Yeah, there is no need for that in the summer time."

"Okay, well I gotta go to the bookstore and get my books. You coming Cam?" Sirius interjected.

"No. I finished my shopping a little while ago. Saw Dorcas standing here like a secret agent or something so I thought I'd say hi." Cameron said jokingly.

The boys laughed and Dorcas just smiled embarrassed. "Okay, well then we'll see you on the Hogwarts express then." James told him smiling.

Cameron nodded. "Yeah sounds good. See you guys." He waved and walked off.

Sirius smiled as Cameron left then, looking around, the smile slid off his face. "Everyone looks terrified huh?" He announced to no one in particular.

Dorcas looked around. Everyone who was in the street had their eyes downcast and was rushing from store to store. "Yeah." She said sadly. "I'm surprised that there is actually this many people out."

The three boys nodded. "Yeah, well we should hurry though too. My parents were pretty nervous about letting me go out without them, so I need to get home so they don't worry too much." James told them.

The other three nodded and went on their way, making sure to keep their eyes open and their hands on their wands for anything that may happen.

* * *

**A.N. **Happy New Year everyone! :D I decided to start my fanfiction year off right with an update. Hope you guys liked this chapter and like the story so far.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling.**

_Chapter Twelve _

Roxanne was staring out the train window, lost in thought. The Marauders, Lily, Marlene, Mary, Dorcas and her were all sharing a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, on their way back to school for their sixth year. Everyone in the compartment was laughing and joking together, except for Roxanne who was watching the scenery go by. Rhiannon had came back into the Quidditch shop on the day Ryan's trousers came in and it took all of the self restraint that Roxanne had to not start screaming that she and Ryan had been together. 'Okay, so maybe we just kissed pretty passionately, but who cares? If she's going to go around and hold hands with him, then she deserves to be lied to.' Roxanne thought with a scowl. She shook herself out of her thoughts and tried to focus on the conversation in the compartment.

"I still cannot believe that Cameron is your cousin and I never knew!" Dorcas was saying to Mary Mac with a laugh.

"Yeah, me either. I could have sworn that I mentioned it at least once." Mary told her.

Dorcas shrugged. "Maybe you told me and I just never processed it right."

Everyone laughed. At that moment, the compartment door opened and Severus Snape stood in the doorway, not looking anyone in the eye except for Lily. He had shoulder length greasy black hair, black eyes, a prominent nose, and he was very pale. The compartment went quiet.

"Lily? May I speak to you for a moment?" He asked softly, peering at her though this curtain of hair.

"She doesn't want to Snivelly. Get the hell out of here." Sirius said meanly.

Dorcas scoffed and gave him a dirty look. "Shush."

Sirius just rolled his eyes. Snape paid him no attention. Lily just stayed in her seat, looking torn.

"Please. Just give me five minutes." Snape said, the plea evident in his voice.

Lily nodded. "Okay. But five minutes only." She stood up and followed him out of the compartment, shutting it behind her. James looked upset, but uncharacteristically said nothing.

Dorcas turned on Sirius. "What is your problem? He was not talking to you. Why were you so mean?"

Sirius scoffed. "Do you remember why they stopped being friends in the first place? You remember what he called her?"

"Of course I remember Sirius! Us girls were the ones who helped her though it after it happened if _you_ don't remember. But don't you think that you should probably just grow up, be the bigger man, and leave him alone?" Dorcas spat.

"No, I don't." He said simply.

Dorcas rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You just do not know when to quit do you?"

Sirius opened his mouth to retort when James spoke. "Maybe she's right Sirius."

Sirius's eyebrows almost got lost in his hair as he looked at James in disbelief. "What? What are you talking about Prongs? This is Snivelly!"

James looked determined. "I'm just done with him, it's not worth it anymore. Now don't get me wrong; if he comes at me with his wand raised then you can bet that I'll raise mine too." James paused, looking serious. "But I'll really try to not start anything with him anymore."

Sirius was speechless. He sputtered a little trying to come up with something, but just couldn't think of anything to say. He just folded his arms, half shrugged and sat back in his seat, a sour look on his face.

A few minutes later, Lily walked back into the compartment, looking distinctly bad tempered. No one spoke for a few minutes, then James dispersed the tension by bringing up one of his more thought out pranks.

As everyone laughed and listened to James, Dorcas studied Lily sadly. She knew that the girl was extremely upset by the fact that her and Severus weren't friends anymore. Dorcas had always felt pretty sorry for him, not really knowing why Sirius and James bullied him so much. She was well aware of the circumstances in which their friendship fell apart and she backed Lily up one hundred percent when she made her decision to cut ties with the Slytherin. However, Dorcas just couldn't really understand where Severus was coming from. He was obviously smitten with the redhead. They had been friends long before coming to Hogwarts, and it seemed weird to Dorcas that he would have ever picked people like Avery and Mulciber over Lily. Sean Avery and Mark Mulciber were Slytherins as well, and exactly what people ended up stereotyping as the "quintessential Slytherin". They were cruel, ruthless and they both had extremely nasty senses of humor. Dorcas despised both of them. They were very open and honest about their plans after Hogwarts, and those plans included Voldemort. Just thinking about the "man" made Dorcas's blood boil. How could they even think about joining him? They were just kids and had no idea how far Voldemort would go to get power. This confused Dorcas even more in regards to Snape. He was certainly very knowledgeable about the Dark Arts, but Dorcas had a very hard time imagining him as a Death Eater. She shook her head sadly. It was amazing to think that 16 year old's would have to choose what side they were on in a war. It pained Dorcas to think about all the innocent lives that were being lost at that exact moment.

"Honey? You okay?" Sirius asked her concerned.

Dorcas pulled herself out of her thoughts and tried to smile at him. "Yeah, just got lost in my thoughts for a minute."

Sirius nodded at her and turned back to James who was still going on about his more well thought out pranks. Dorcas looked across from her and watched Roxanne for a few moments. The girl was staring out the window, lost in her thoughts. 'That's been happening a lot lately.' Dorcas thought. Roxanne would put up a good show, as if she was interested in any conversation that her friends were having, but after a while she would zone out and become completely immersed in her own little world. Dorcas wondered if it had anything to do with Remus and Marlene. Roxanne had stated point blank that she was definitely not interested in Remus. However, they did end up kissing in the summer, and it made Dorcas wonder if Roxanne wasn't having some sort of jealously.

If Dorcas were to see into Roxanne's mind however, she would have discovered that she was dead wrong about Roxanne's thoughts. Her mind didn't stray to Remus and Marlene once, her thoughts were on one person, and that was Ryan Thompson. It also so happened that if Dorcas were to be interested in why Roxanne was thinking about him, she would be out of luck. Roxanne just didn't know. Over and over again, the vision of Ryan and Rhiannon kissing in the front of Quality Qudditch Supplies ran through her mind and frankly, Roxanne was sick of it. She finally admitted to herself that she wouldn't be opposed to snogging him again or maybe twice more, but she refused to believe that she liked him. There was just something about him that was holding her back. The way he looked at her... as though she were a piece of meat, she really didn't appreciate that. He had a sort of sneer/drawl thing going on when he talked to her, and she didn't like that either. What Roxanne didn't realize was that these were extremely feeble excuses.

"Roxanne? Common, the train is slowing down, you better get ready." Roxanne looked up to see Dorcas eying her critically. Roxanne nodded and proceeded to get her things. 'Just stop. You are not his girlfriend, you're barely his friend. Just don't think about him anymore. You had your chance, he was perfectly rude to you, and now it's over so just stop." She told herself firmly. The train finally jerked to a stop, and she followed her friends out of the compartment and up to the castle.

While seated at the Gryffindor table, Roxanne's eyes seemed drawn to the Slytherin one. Ryan and Rhiannon were sitting next to each other, Ryan's arm resting on her shoulder. They were talking to Bellatrix and her boyfriend Rodolphus Lestrange. Avery and Mulciber sat close by as well, Brienna seated next to Mulciber, whom she was staring at sappily. The group was laughing unpleasantly at something and Roxanne tore her eyes away to focus on her meal.

Instead of staring at the Slytherin table, Lily was doing her best to avoid looking even in the general direction. Severus was staring at her, and had been for awhile. When they used to be friends, he would do that a lot to try to get her to communicate silently with him, which being friends for so long, they were particularly good at. Flustered, Lily refused to look at him, very set in what she had decided. She wished it didn't have to be the way it was, but Severus just would not cut ties with Avery and Mulciber, whom he hung out with constantly. Lily just couldn't look past the fact that everyone Severus hung out with seemed insistent on making her feel horrible about her parentage. If Severus calling her a mudblood at the end of their fifth year was an isolated incident, she may have been able to look past it and forgive him, but it wasn't. He was involved in much muggle-born slandering that he thought she didn't know about, but she did. She was very aware about what him and his friends said about muggle-borns behind her back and she just couldn't put up with it anymore. She knew all about it and turned a blind eye to it for so long that she felt absolutely horrible. She wanted to give him another chance, she really did, but it was just impossible. That was basically what she told him on the train. That if he insisted on staying friends with the people he was and kept on acting like a little Death Eater in training, she just could not be friends with him. It wrenched her heart to say something like that to one of her oldest friends, but she hoped he would take it to heart and change his attitude.

"Well, you scared me half out of my wits, what did you expect?" Dorcas was saying jokingly to Cameron who was a few seats away from her. He had just asked her about Diagon Alley and how on earth she could have been so off her guard.

Cameron shrugged. "Not for you to practically scream that I was a murderer!" He laughed.

She laughed too. "Well technically I was yelling that Sirius was a murderer."

The two laughed together and Sirius looked confused. "What? Me?" He asked Dorcas who was still laughing.

After a few moments, she calmed down. "Yeah, when he came up behind me, I thought it was you so I screamed your name and how fucked up you were."

Everyone laughed and Sirius smiled. "I wouldn't have done that to you though. You know that."

Dorcas smiled and pecked him softly. Cameron looked away and focused on his food again. Meanwhile, even though Remus was with Marlene, and she was sitting right next to him, he couldn't help but glance Roxanne's way more than once. He noticed her looking over at the Slytherin table and was slightly confused. Was she looking at Snape who was staring at Lily? Or maybe... He scanned the Slytherin table trying to see who she would be staring at, and no one really stood out to him. "Here honey, you should eat some more. You need your strength." Marlene's voice brought him back to earth and he smiled at her. "You're right as always. Thanks."

Marlene beamed. "Of course. And don't forget our Prefect duties hon."

Remus nodded. "I won't." He tried not to look at Roxanne for the rest of the night, even though the was still extremely curious as to who she was staring at.

Unbeknown to Roxanne, Rhiannon was having the exact same issue that she was over at the Slytherin table. For some reason, she just couldn't stop herself from staring at Cameron Adams every few minutes. 'He has really grown up this summer,' she thought to herself, echoing the sentiments she thought of before when she bumped into him in Diagon Alley. Cameron was one of the only Gryffindor's that she could really stand. She had always considered him an acquaintance that she liked to talk to when her friends were not around. She pried her eyes away from him and made eye contact with Roxanne Bennett who was obviously in the middle of staring at someone around her. Roxanne quickly tore her eyes away and started talking to Mary Mac who was sitting beside her. 'Well that was weird... I wonder who she was staring at.' She thought vaguely. She shook herself out of her thoughts to listen to Bellatrix who was of course talking about her plans after Hogwarts.

"It's only a matter of time before the Dark Lord takes over the Ministry, and when he does, I'll be only to ready and willing to pledge my allegiance." She was saying snobbishly. Everyone included in the conversation nodded, except for Ryan and Rhiannon. "I mean, this is a new world order I'm talking about. You-Know-Who is pretty much taking over the wizard world, and I really can't say I mind all that much."

Rhiannon rolled her eyes inwardly. 'Why can't she just shut up?' She thought irritably. The desserts appeared on the table, granting her wish. Bellatrix stopped talking and helped herself to some apple pie.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Sirius was looking back and forth between Cameron and Dorcas who were still talking, and he felt a slight pang in his stomach. 'Are they flirting?' He asked himself in disbelief. Dorcas was smiling the way she smiled at him when they shared a private moment, and even though he had never seen Dorcas and Cameron spend more than ten minutes together, they seemed to have a multitude of inside jokes.

"No! He was the one that said that Mary, do not believe him!" Dorcas said indignantly but with a smile.

"Oh Dorcas, you cannot lie your way out of this one. You were the one who brought up how annoying Mary was and then got all sad because I wouldn't agree with you." Cameron told her seriously.

Dorcas just laughed and buried her face in her hands. "Liar!" She said, and it came out very muffled.

Mary laughed too. "Don't worry Dorcas, I believe you. Cameron just loves to lie."

Cameron acted scandalized and put a hand to his chest. "Me? Surely not. I have no reasons to lie."

"Exactly, which makes it even worse that you do it!" Dorcas cried, pointing at him.

Everyone laughed, except for Sirius, who was becoming more and more uncomfortable. He put his arm around Dorcas's shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. She ignored it.

"Oh, and another thing. You were the one who said that you would rather people didn't know that Mary was your cousin in the first place!" Dorcas said triumphantly.

It was Mary's turn to look scandalized. "Cameron! I thought you loved me! We're family!" She said at the top of her voice, making sure it carried up and down the table.

"Hush! Hush crazy! You'll ruin my reputation!" Cameron said.

Everyone laughed again. "I say that we should teach Cameron a lesson when we get to the common room. What do you say Mary?" Dorcas asked, crossing her arms.

Mary nodded. "I agree. I think he should know exactly how I feel about him being embarrassed of me as a cousin, when clearly it's me who should be ashamed of him."

Cameron laughed. "Well, if you guys can catch me, then go for it!" It sounded like a challenge.

Dorcas just raised her eyebrows at him. "Deal. It's so on."

Cameron raised his eyebrows as well. "Fine. But I feel like we should raise the stakes."

Dorcas's eyebrows went even higher. "You have to sleep sometime Adams."

He laughed. "That sounds like a no. Fine," he went back to his meal. "I figured you couldn't handle it anyway."

Dorcas bristled. "Oh I could handle anything you threw at me. Anything you could concoct in your tiny little brain."

Oooo's rang out from the other students and Cameron smirked. "Okay fine. If you catch me within 15 minutes, you win. But if I evade you for that long, then I win."

Dorcas looked thoughtful for a moment. "Is magic allowed?"

"I don't think so. Let's not try to do anything that will get us a detention." He said logically.

Dorcas smirked. "Not so cocky now are you? Afraid of a detention?"

Everyone laughed and it was Cameron's turn to look thoughtful. "Okay. You convinced me. Magic's allowed from both sides and the 15 minutes starts once we exit the Great Hall. Sound fair?"

Dorcas nodded. "Fine. Sounds good to me."

"Oh, and it has to just be you and Mary. It would just not be fair if all you guys were after me."

Dorcas nodded again and held out her hand. "Deal." They shook on it.

"So what does the winner get?" James chimed in.

Cameron looked thoughtful. "How about winners choice? They get to make the loser do whatever they want."

Everyone laughed and Dorcas and Mary nodded.

"Oh this is going to be fun." Cameron said happily.

"You know, you don't have to do this Dorcas." Sirius told her grumpily.

Dorcas just smiled. "Oh, what's life without a little risk?" Sirius just shrugged and scowled a little.

A couple of seats down, James noticed Lily carefully avoiding looking anywhere but her plate. He put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped a little.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you.. are you okay?" He asked her concerned.

She barely nodded. "I'm fine."

James wasn't convinced. "Lily, I understand how you feel. It sucks losing friends."

Lily looked at him, her eyebrows raised. "Do you really Potter? Because somehow, I don't think so."

James was surprised. "No, I do. I'm just trying to make you feel better."

"Well, it's not working. Look, why don't you just quit the act Potter. I know that you don't care that me and Severus aren't friends anymore, so stop acting like you do. You've always hated him! And for some reason I've forgotten why I hated you so much, but now the reason has come back to me in full force. I'm done playing nice with you. You have done nothing to deserve it." She said loudly, gaining the pair an audience.

"I stood... I stood up for him.. on.. train." James said flabbergasted, not knowing where Lily's anger was coming from.

"WOW! One time! After the multitude of times you bullied him instead! Just stop Potter!" She told him as James opened his mouth to retort. Lily slammed her fork down that she had been pointing at James, got up and stalked out of the Great Hall. The Gryffindor table went quiet as mostly everyone stared at James, who sat stock still in his seat, a very confused look on his face. After a few moments, he got up dejected and walked out of the Great Hall as well.

"Prongs! Prongs wait!" Sirius said to his retreating back. He turned to Dorcas. "I better go make sure he's okay. See you in the common room later?" Dorcas nodded, just as confused as everyone else. Sirius got up and followed James. Marlene had already rushed after Lily, leaving everyone else to finish their desserts in silence.

A few minutes later, Albus Dumbledore stood up and dismissed them all, reminding them of every thing that was banned and to stay away from the forbidden forest. Remus got up quickly to herd the first years and Dorcas looked over to see Cameron stretching. She laughed. "That's not going to help you." She told him.

He just smiled at her. "You never know, it just might." And with that, he jogged away from her, weaving in and out of students. Just then, Dorcas realized that she was losing. "Oh shoot!" She said, and she waved at Mary Mac to follow her, and she hurried out of the Great Hall. When the girls made it into the entrance hall Cameron had disappeared.

"Oh no! Do you have any idea where he went?" Dorcas asked Mary as her eyes darted back and forth looking for any sign of him.

Mary shook her head. "No, but common, lets go upstairs and just start searching corridors." Dorcas nodded and they started running, keeping their eyes open.

After ten minutes, Dorcas stopped running in a fourth floor corridor, out of breath. "Mary! Let's just go up to Gryffindor tower! He probably just ran up there and is sitting in his bed!"

Mary laughed. "Okay, let's go."

The girls made it up to the tower to see Roxanne, Peter, and Remus in the best seats by the fire. Dorcas made her way over to them. "Have you guys seen Cam?"

They all shook their heads. "You guys haven't found him? You only have like three minutes left." Roxanne said.

Dorcas didn't answer but looked around the common room. She went over to tables and looked in every nook and cranny.

Mary sighed. "Okay, I think we lost."

Dorcas sighed too. "Yeah, I guess. Well that sucks. I was just distracted by Lily and James's fight and I practically forgot about the bet."

Mary nodded. "Yeah. I really hope he doesn't make us to anything too embarrassing."

A few moments later they heard a voice behind them. "And... time." They turned around to see Cameron with an eye on his watch.

"How did you get in here without us seeing you!" Dorcas asked dumbfounded.

Cameron smirked. "A little thing that I like to call a disillusionment charm."

Dorcas's jaw dropped. "So you've just been in the tower the whole time?"

Cameron nodded and Mary busted out laughing. "Oh you are such a jerk!" She said in between her laughter.

Dorcas did not laugh. "You are such a cheater. The bet is off."

Cameron smirked. "Umm no, because it was your idea for us to even use magic."

"But I.. but you!... ugh." Dorcas stuttered. "Fine. You win." She conceded.

Cameron smiled evilly. "Okay, that's settled. Now onto the subject of payment."

Mary sobered up immediately and Dorcas just looked nervous as Cameron rubbed his hands together, still smiling.

* * *

**A.N. **Sorry about the long wait! I've been really busy with the holidays and everything, but hopefully now I can go back to regular updates. Please review! :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. **

_Chapter Thirteen _

"Hello"

Roxanne jumped as she heard the voice. She had stayed behind her friends in the Transfiguration classroom finishing up some notes. She tried harder in that class then any other. She seemed to have a slight block for the subject and she had a hard time with it. She turned around to see Ryan Thompson looking at her. She was surprised. "Hello," she told him tonelessly. She still hadn't forgotten how rude he was to her.

"Where are your annoying, interrupting friends?" He asked with a hint of a joke.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Why do you care? Why do you need to know anything about me?"

His eyebrows rose. "I guess I don't. So what's your problem? You hate me all of a sudden?" He scoffed. "You're really weird."

Roxanne scoffed too, trying to hurry with her notes so she could leave without saying something stupid, or worse, doing something stupid. "You were very rude to me. I don't forget something like that in hurry."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "I was only rude to you after you practically told me that kissing me was a mistake and you never wanted to do it again. You're a tease Roxy. Just admit it."

Roxanne said nothing. She just started writing faster, her penmanship becoming more and more hard to read. She wasn't going to let him annoy her into talking to him. He was obviously just trying to get a rise out of her. 'Well the jokes on you because it's not working you twat,' she thought. She finished her notes after ages it seemed and stuffed her quill and parchment into her bag. She got up to leave but Ryan took a step sideways to make sure he was in front of her, impeding her escape. She shoved him slightly but he stood his ground. She sighed wearily and looked up at him. "Excuse me," she told him with as much frostiness as she could muster.

Ryan just smirked, sarcastically bowed and let her pass. As she walked furiously passed him he said, "I didn't think it was a mistake. I'm quite eager for it to happen again. You are too, even though you're acting like you don't."

Roxanne wanted nothing more then to turn around and scream at him that he was wrong, but just then, Bellatrix, Rhiannon and Brienna all walked into the classroom. The three girls looked at her with disgust, and Rhiannon opened her mouth to say something, but Roxanne was already hurrying past them out the door and into the corridor. Rhiannon just scoffed and directed her attention to Ryan instead. He had taken Roxanne's abandoned seat and was taking out his things waiting for class to start. She pulled up the chair next to him. "Hey cutie," she told him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

He smiled at her. "Hello to you."

She returned the smile. Bellatrix sat on her other side, not wasting any time to say what she wanted about Roxanne. "I really cannot stand that Bennett. I swear one of these days I'll just hex her for the fuck of it." She said with a laugh.

Rhiannon and Brienna, who was sitting on Bellatrix's other side, nodded. "Yeah," Rhiannon started. "I want to just slap her sometimes. She can be insanely stupid." Ryan scoffed and Rhiannon looked at him surprised. "What? You don't think so?" She asked annoyed. Ryan just shrugged, not in the mood for Rhiannon's bullshit. She just rolled her eyes.

Bellatrix's leaned over Rhiannon to look at Ryan. "You'd rather snog her then slap her wouldn't you Thompson?" Brienna laughed but Rhiannon looked even more irritated.

Ryan smirked. "You don't have to be jealous Bellatrix. The fact is, is that Roxanne is one of the most sexiest girls in the school. You must have noticed. Nothing get's passed you."

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "Apparently it hasn't escaped your notice either. I'm surprised at you. Who thought Ryan Thompson would want to snog a nasty Gryffindor." She sneered at Rhiannon. "Didn't he snog you once? Were you that bad?"

Rhiannon scoffed loudly. "You're really bad at joke telling Bella. If you really want to know, why don't you just ask your boyfriend, he'll tell you exactly how my lips taste."

Bellatrix just rolled her eyes. "Rodolphus knows better," she said with superiority. "So do you."

It was Rhiannon's turn to roll her eyes. A few minutes later the class started. Rhiannon took notes for a while but kept getting distracted. Was Ryan really attracted to Roxanne? She absentmindedly looked his way every couple of minutes. He was very attentive, taking notes and asking questions. He had told Rhiannon he needed very good marks to be able to be Minister of Magic someday. She rolled her eyes internally, he really was very full of himself.

* * *

"Collywobbles," Roxanne told the Fat Lady as she reached her. She was still fuming over her run in with Ryan. It was like she told Mrs. Potter during the summer, she had never been so confused in her life and she was more than sick of it. She was very used to being decisive and to the point in every aspect of her life. She prided herself on knowing what to do in practically every situation, but with Ryan she just couldn't figure out anything and it was maddening. The portrait swung open to allow her inside, and her fuming was cut short by her friends waving her over to them. Dorcas, Mary and Cameron were in the best seats by the fire, studying. Roxanne made her way over to them, trying to put Ryan in the back of her mind. "Hey guys," she said trying to manage a smile.

"Hey Roxy," Dorcas told her with a smile of her own. "Did you get all the extra notes?"

Roxanne nodded. "Yeah. I need to get started on that paper that's due. It's going to take me forever to finish because of all the research I have to do. I really wish Transfiguration wasn't so hard for me." She said with a sigh.

"I'll help you. We can go to the library together and look up a bunch of stuff," Dorcas said, sympathetic.

Roxanne nodded. "Thanks Dorcas. Even with all the free time this year we're working more than ever. I should have just given up the stupid subject." She leaned back in the armchair she was sitting in and heaved another sigh. "Well, I'm to exhausted to do any work right now, so I think I'll take a nap. Wake me for my next class?" She asked Dorcas.

Dorcas nodded too. "Yeah, no problem. You okay?"

Roxanne hesitated then barely nodded. "Just tired. See you soon." She then got up and scuffled to the girls dormitory. Dorcas's eyes followed her worryingly then she focused back on her homework. Mary was tapping her fingers on the end table, lost in thought. Cameron tapped her on the shoulder. "You do know that's terribly annoying?" He asked her.

"Well, I can't help it. It makes me nervous," she said quickly.

Cameron's eyes widened, that wasn't an answer he was expecting. "What makes you nervous?"

"You! What on earth are you going to make us do? I could hardly sleep last night thinking about it. Tell me." Mary said loudly.

Cameron laughed. "But that is half the fun. Letting you stew about it!"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Come on. Just tell us so we can do it and get it over with. The more you put it off, the more time you have to come up with something really embarrassing and that's not fair."

Dorcas nodded. "I have to say I agree. You really should just let us off the hook. You already won, you don't have to shove it in our faces."

Cameron just shook his head, a little smile on his face. "Fine. Tomorrow is the day. Get ready."

* * *

Up in the boy's dormitory, Sirius, Peter and Remus were all crowded around, still trying to cheer up James who was sitting his bed and was still in a bit of a funk since his and Lily's fight.

"You guy's used to fight constantly! How is this any different?" Sirius was saying.

James just shook his head. "It's just that I thought I had actually gotten somewhere this summer. I actually thought that I had gotten to the point where she didn't hate me anymore. Seems like I was wrong. It's just hard to take knowing that I haven't gotten anywhere.

Remus shook his head sadly. "She was just flustered because of Severus. Maybe she just feels like she shouldn't like you because you guys are such enemies."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "They aren't even friends anymore. It can't be that."

"I don't know Sirius. They were friends for a long time and even though they aren't friends now, it could still feel like a form of betrayal to her." Remus said smartly.

James sighed loudly and laid back on his bed, rubbing his eyes. "I just don't know. I'm about ready to give up. I just don't know how to get though to her."

The other three boys looked at him sadly. Peter put a hand on James's arm. "Don't say that Prongs. You'll get her." He told him.

James just sighed again. "I really don't know anymore Pete. I just don't know."

A couple moments passed in silence, then Sirius stood up suddenly. "You just need a little pick me up." He said, a mischievous smile forming on his face.

James looked confused. "What? What kind of pick me up?

"Put on the Invisibility cloak and let's go."

"Where? We still have classes," Remus said nervously.

"So? This is more important then classes. James in in a funk and I'm going to help him get out of it." Sirius said matter-of-factually.

James only looked hesitant for a second, then he smiled and pulled the cloak from his trunk. "Lead the way Padfoot."

A little while later, Sirius, James, and Peter were on their way down the corridor with one destination in mind. Remus was still up in the dormitory, refusing point blank to be a part of whatever they had planned. Since he had gotten his prefect badge, he had become a bit more of a party pooper. They approached the one-eyed witch quietly and whispered the spell to open up the hump in her back.

"You go first Peter," Sirius whispered. "You'll take the longest."

Peter gave a little nod and clambered though the hole, the other two were back to back keeping an eye out for any approaching students. The corridors were practically empty since dinner was over and everyone was pretty much in their common rooms. When Peter finally made it through the hole, James went next, crawling through with expert movement. Sirius was the same, and then, once they were all in the hole, they started down the long passageway.

"What are we going to do once we get into Hogsmeade?" Peter asked nervously. "Practically everyone in that town knows we're Hogwarts students."

Sirius just smiled. "It'll be fine Pete. No one will even know we're there."

Peter look confused but didn't say anything.

Back at the school, Remus had went down in the common room to see Dorcas and Cameron sitting at a table together with their books out. However, it didn't look as though they were doing much studying. Remus never really thought that the two were very good friends, but seeing them seated at the table, laughing and joking with each other made him think twice. He couldn't think anymore on it, because Marlene was waving him down to come sit with her. She was sitting with Roxanne and Mary Mac, books shewn all over the table in front of them. He sat next to his girlfriend and pecked her on the cheek. Marlene beamed.

"Hi honey. Gotten all your studying done?" Marlene asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah. I had a free period earlier so I went to the library and plowed through all my stuff."

Marlene smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him again. "You're so smart."

He smirked. His smirk slid off his face however, when he looked up to the stairs and saw Lily descending them, her eyes red and puffy. She looked miserable. Marlene looked up confused and stood up immediately, going to her friend. He saw Marlene whisper something to her and Lily nodded. Marlene put her arm around her and led her to where the rest of the group was sitting. For some reason, Remus glanced back in Dorcas's direction and it seemed that her and Cameron hadn't noticed a thing. They were in their own little world, talking and laughing together. Marlene seated Lily next to Roxanne on a love seat and Roxanne immediately started rubbing the girls back soothingly, talking low so Remus couldn't hear. Lily nodded a few times and took Roxanne's book which she had offered to her. The group was silent until the portrait hole opened and a loud voice rang out.

"Heidi Hidee hidee hayy hoo!"

Remus looked confused at the portrait hole and was surprised to see James stumbling in, looking a little... drunk? Remus got up and went to him immediately. Sirius and Peter followed in behind him, laughing hysterically.

"What's going on?" Remus asked. "Where did you guys go?"

"Hogsmeade!" James said loudly. "We went for fun Remus! You missssseedd out!"

"Shhh! Shh." Remus said. He grabbed James's arm a little roughly and pulled him to the stairs. Lily looked very alarmed. However, her alarm was looking like it was turning into anger very very quickly. Dorcas finally seemed to come back to reality and got up from her place at her table, going quickly to Sirius.

"What's going on? What on earth did you do Sirius?" Dorcas asked incredulously.

Sirius tried not to laugh as James was giving Remus a very hard time. James had gotten out of Remus's grip and started singing a song about a pirate. He was running in circles around the prefect and waving his arms around as though conducting a choir. "_I _didn't do anything. I got my friend out of his funk."

Dorcas rolled her eyes. She went toward James and Remus, stopping right in James's path, making him stop with his singing and running. "Dorcas!" James said happily. He brought her into a big hug and kissed her forehead.

"James. Stop. Go to your dorm. You're making a fool of yourself." Dorcas told him.

James's face fell immensely. "Lily hates me Dorcas. I just don't understand why. Why does she like Snivelly? Can you tell me? Help me to understand Dorcas. I really want to understand."

Dorcas half glanced at Lily before grabbing James's arm and pulling him up the stairs before Lily could say anything. The half glance Dorcas had taken, showed her that Lily was very ready to say something. When they made it upstairs, the rest of the Marauders close behind, Dorcas sat James on his bed, turning back toward the other three, livid. "What. The. Hell!"

The three boys flinched, Peter practically jumping out of his skin. Sirius was the first to defend himself. "I took James to get something that would take his mind off Lily, that's all. I maintain I was being a good friend."

Dorcas scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, good job Sirius. Letting him bound into the common room singing at the top of his lungs. Was that being a good friend? Not talking through his problem with him but getting him wasted to the point he couldn't even think?"

Sirius just shrugged, which irritated Dorcas to no end. "Fine. If you're going to be immature like that, that is just fine." And with that, she stormed out.

Sirius watched her go, expressionless. She just didn't understand. James needed this. He needed to get away from his problems for awhile, and Sirius had helped him do that.

Meanwhile, in the common room, a sudden hush fell over the room after Dorcas had pulled James to his dorm. Almost all eyes were on Lily to see what she would do. Some of the younger kids looked as though they wondered if she would start shouting again. Lily just sat stock still for about a minute before calmly shutting her book and heading back up to her dormitory. Marlene watched her go sadly, and Roxanne looked on the verge of tears. Mary Mac was focused on a book in her lap, her eyes unmoving. Dorcas came back downstairs, a look of frustration on her face. She looked around, wanting to see Lily, but when she realized that the girl was not in her seat anymore, Dorcas just looked at the steps leading up to the girls dormitories sadly. She sighed deeply and walked over to sit next to Roxanne. "She say anything?" Dorcas asked the three girls. They all shook their heads sadly. They all wanted to go talk to Lily, but none of them really knew what to say.

Up in the Marauders dorm, James was sitting on the floor and leaning against a bed post on his bed, clutching a small trash can that Sirius had conjured up, puking.

"Let it all out mate. It'll be over soon," Sirius told James soothingly. James looked very pale beneath his very black hair.

"Is he going to be okay?" Peter asked. "Maybe we should take him to Madam Pomfrey."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yeah and she gets one whiff of his barf and wants to know where he got firewhiskey from. What are you going to tell her Peter? He'll be fine."

Across the room, Remus was sitting on his bed, and he scoffed. Sirius turned irritably toward him. "What?" Sirius asked him with an eyebrow raised.

Remus just shook his head. "I just wonder what goes though your head sometimes Padfoot."

Sirius rolled his eyes again. "Why is everyone treating me like the bad guy? James was having a fucked up time with Lily and I was just trying to help. His mind is obviously off of her so you guys should be thanking me instead of being dickheads."

Peter nodded jerkily but Remus just looked back at Sirius stonily. Sirius just crossed his arms and went to sit on his bed. Only silence and James's vomit could be heard in the room for a while after that.

"I honestly just do not know what goes though Sirius's head sometimes. You know?" Dorcas said to her friends, still frustrated with the way the night was going.

Roxanne looked a little confused. "Sirius? James is the one that's drunk."

Dorcas shook her head. "Yeah, but guess who's idea it was to go into Hogsmeade and steal firewhiskey to get him that way."

Roxanne didn't know what to say, so she just shrugged. "Don't worry so much about it Dorcas. He's probably up there puking his brains out and regretting ever touching the stuff."

Dorcas just sighed. "Yeah. I just hate seeing him fuck up his chances with Lily. I love them both and they seemed so happy this summer. I don't know what happened."

Marlene looked upset too. She knew that Lily really liked James even though she pretended not to. "Every time I talked to Lily this summer she seemed really happy that James was actually making an effort to get to know her and everything. I dunno, it seemed like coming here and seeing Severus again really upset her. She wants to be his friend so badly but she knows that she just can't if he's going to act the way he has been."

Roxanne nodded. "Yeah. It's understandable. They were friends for a really long time. It can't be easy to see someone you thought you knew change so much."

Every one nodded and fell into silence, each in their own thoughts.

* * *

Cameron walked up to his dormitory to a very tense atmosphere indeed. Remus and Sirius were both sitting on their beds, facing the opposite direction of each other, their arms crossed and sour looks on their faces. Peter was sitting by James who was on the floor cross legged clutching a small garbage pail. Cameron crossed over to James who had his eyes closed, concerned. "James. You awake mate? You okay?"

James opened his eyes blearily. "I think I'm okay," he said quietly, trying to hand over the bucket to Cameron. Cameron took out his wand and vanished the vomit in the bucket before taking it from James. "Common, up you get." The other three boys looked on nervously as Cameron helped James up and into his bed. He placed the can on the floor at the head of the bed and took of James's shoes. "Just relax okay? You'll be fine. Let us know if you need anything okay?"

James just nodded, closing his eyes again. A little color was coming back to his cheeks, but it was very little. "Is he going to be okay?" Peter asked Cameron.

Cameron nodded. "Oh yeah. He just needs to sleep it off poor guy."

Peter looked relieved. "He didn't even drink that much. Who knew he was capable of producing that much puke?"

Cameron half smiled. "Well, he is fifteen and probably doesn't drink on a regular basis so I would venture to say that he's a bit of a lightweight."

Remus chuckled a little, but Sirius looked a little worried now. "Thanks Cameron. I was a little scared to move him. I thought he was going to puke all night." Sirius told him.

Cameron shook his head. "No problem. Have Mary Mac tell you some of our Christmas stories with our family. We're a bit of a... lively bunch, so it's not like I haven't had practice with this sort of thing."

The three boys laughed and the tension was finally gone. "So how pissed is Dorcas at me?" Sirius asked Cameron, trying to make it seem like a bit of a joke but failing.

"She is a bit. She kind of blames you," Cameron told him truthfully. "But I'm sure if you just apologize and tell her that she's right and you're wrong, she'll forgive you," he said with a smile.

Sirius half smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. I'll say that I was taking care of James all night. Maybe she'll believe that I'm a good friend then."

Cameron laughed. "Yeah. Just act all tired and she'll sympathize."

Sirius smiled for real this time. "I like you Adams. Nice thinking."

Cameron just winked and plopped into his bed, taking out a book to read and turning on his bedside light. "You're a lucky guy Sirius, Dorcas is a great girl."

Sirius was pulling on a nightshirt when he paused and smiled. "Yeah. She really is." He continued to get ready for bed and a strange feeling crept up into him. He was ready to accept any kind of complements on his relationship from many people, but for some reason, Cameron telling him about how wonderful Dorcas was made him a little uncomfortable. He dismissed the feeling and got into his bed, his mind working furiously to figure out what he should say to get his girlfriend to forgive him.

Down in the common room, the girls were starting to get tired. Mary Mac was the first to let out a big yawn, making the other girls follow suit. "Damn you Mary. You know that yawns are contagious right?" Roxanne asked her.

Mary chuckled. "It's all part of my master plan. Just wait."

Roxanne smirked and shook her head. "Okay weirdo." She shut her book and stretched out, putting her book into her book bag. "I have to go to bed. I'm exhausted. This whole summer was making sure that I was wasted physically and now this darn school is making sure I'm wasted mentally as well. I should drop out and be a professional Quidditch player. Ugh. I just realized that I'm going to have to schedule Qudditch around this crap. Damn."

Dorcas laughed when Roxanne finished her little speech. "You'll be fine. You've always figured out a way before to handle it."

Roxanne just shrugged. "I'm out. See you guys upstairs."

All the girls nodded. Right when Roxanne left, Dorcas ended up closing the book that she was reading. "I can't really concentrate anymore," she told Mary. "God Sirius upsets me."

Mary nodded. "Yeah, it sure wasn't a great idea to get James drunk, but you can't blame it all on Sirius."

Dorcas just sighed. "You're right. I guess we've been together long enough that the honeymoon phase is over and now we'll fight for awhile," she said jokingly.

Mary chuckled. "Yeah, now's the point where you really figure out if you like him or not."

"Yep. He sure needs to try harder to impress me now."

At this, Mary laughed out loud. "I bet. He's going to have to figure out that his damn charm can't get him everywhere. Right?"

Dorcas smiled. "Right."

Mary yawned again. "Well, you ready for bed or are you going to stay down here for awhile?"

Dorcas looked down at her book and her stomach did a guilty squirm. "I better stay," she sighed. "I don't have to much left to read but I better do it."

Mary nodded. "Okay." She gathered up her things and shuffled tiredly to the stairs of the girls dorm.

Dorcas sighed heavily and picked up her book again. She only had about five pages left and she needed to do it. With her luck, she wouldn't read and McGonagall would quiz them on it right away. She started reading, then a couple minutes later she heard a noise come from the stairs. She looked up to see Cameron coming down, shirtless and bleary eyed. He noticed her almost immediately and smiled, making his way to her. "Well, you're up late," he told her.

Dorcas nodded. "Yeah, gotta read for Transfiguration. I only have a few pages left so I thought I'd finish."

"I see. Well, I'll be right back. I thought I could control my bladder for longer than I have but apparently not," he laughed.

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Gross," she said, pushing his shoulder playfully.

Cameron just winked at her and left the common room. A few minutes later he walked back in. "Ah. That feels better."

Dorcas looked up from her book again. "Yay?"

Cameron laughed. "Thanks for the support Dorcas. I can always count on you."

"Always with the sarcasm Adams?" She joked.

"I wouldn't be me otherwise," he smiled, sitting next to her on the loveseat.

"I guess not," Dorcas told him, shrugging. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. 'I like him,' she thought to herself with a smile. Dorcas realized that she had never really talked to him all that much, but lately they had been and became fast friends. They were both sarcastic in a playful way and they got along quite well. She noticed that she was as comfortable with him now as she was with even Roxanne, and the two girls had been lifelong friends. She looked sideways at him. "Are you really going to make us do something tomorrow?" She asked, in regards to the bet they had made.

"Well, of course," he told her with his eyebrows raised. "You lost the bet."

She shook her head. "You cheated though. It wasn't really fair."

"Now, lets not hear anymore of this cheating stuff. It was your idea to even use magic so I won fair and square. You're just going to have to deal with it," Cameron told her seriously.

Dorcas groaned. "Fine. Just be aware that I may never talk to you again after wards."

Cameron just smiled. "Oh, you'll talk to me," he said, looking her in the eyes.

"Oh? And why do you say that?"

"Only one reason: you can't resist me," he told her boldly.

Dorcas faced him and looked him in the eyes as well. She scooted closer so her face was in his. "I certainly can, and I will. You just wait. If you do anything to embarrass me, we are officially not friends anymore." Her voice got quieter, and she thought, more menacing.

"It'll be so worth it." He joked.

Dorcas tried to stop herself from laughing but couldn't when Cameron started wiggling his eyebrows at her. "Fine. You got me. But please! Go easy!" She pleaded.

Cameron nodded. "I like you Dorcas. I wouldn't trade our friendship for anything. Not even the chance to see you humiliated in front of the whole school." He paused. "Actually..." Dorcas hit him on the arm and he laughed again. "Okay, okay. I'll go easy." He turned away from her smiling, and slid his arm behind her. "Humiliation can be good for you, you know," he added as an afterthought.

Dorcas just smiled and shook her head. Another silence passed between the two and Dorcas felt a tingling on her back. Cameron had taken a couple fingers and was absentmindedly rubbing them on the space below her neck. She blushed scarlet and turned to him. "What are you doing?" She asked softly.

He looked about ready to fall asleep, then seemed to come to his senses. He withdrew his arm right away and cleared his throat. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking. I should go to bed, I'm practically falling asleep anyway. Have fun reading your book," he told her a little awkwardly.

Dorcas nodded slowly. "I will. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He walked quickly to the stars and ascended them, still chiding himself for even touching her. 'She's with Sirius. She'll never be interested in you. Ever.' He tucked himself into bed with his thoughts, not able to fall asleep for awhile.

Back in the common room, Dorcas was having a similar battle with herself. 'What if Sirius had walked in and saw him with his arms around you? He would be completely furious!' She told herself sternly. She was going to have to be careful around Cameron Adams.

* * *

**A.N. **Hi everyone! I am soo sorry for the _long _wait! After holiday break school did just not want to give me a break. But anyway. I swear I am not giving up on this story. I will see it through to the end. So yeah. Review and let me know what you think about this chapter, and even where you would like to see it go from here. I'd love to hear from you all. Hope you enjoyed, and I'm really going to make more of an effort to update a little faster from now on. Thanks readers! For your patience mostly! :D


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